In both humans and mice, high levels of the lipid phosphatase SHIP2 cause insulin resistance and susceptibility to type 2 diabetes, but the role of SHIP2 in cellular signalling is unclear. Jurynec and Grunwald show in zebrafish embryos that SHIP2 is an attenuator of the FGF signalling pathway, and that its loss causes many of the same phenotypes as exaggerated FGF signalling. The primary role of mammalian SHIP2 might therefore be to modulate endocrine FGF signalling, explaining its effects on metabolism.
2010
