INS and type 2 diabetes mellitus: Since an impairment in systemic glucose tolerance serves as a high risk for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus in humans, it is anticipated that the elucidation of the pathobiological relationship between the decrease in serine synthesis via the phosphorylation pathway, the diminishment of the insulin/IGF signaling pathway, and the impaired glucose tolerance in the human liver will provide new mechanisms related to impaired glucose tolerance and useful opportunities for its diagnosis and prevention.