INS and type 2 diabetes mellitus: While the results obtained confirm that chronically elevated insulin levels are sufficient to have a detrimental effect on adipocyte insulin sensitivity by negatively affecting glucose internalization and increasing basal lipolysis locally within the adipose tissue, they could also lead to metabolic consequences at the whole body level, such as hyperglycaemia and ectopic fat accumulation, which in turn would aggravate insulin resistance in various tissues and facilitate the progression to frank T2D.