Diabetes genes: you are tormented with X's, confused in zeros…
12 more genes associated with type 2 diabetes have been discoveredDmitry Tselikov, Compulenta
An international group of scientists (Europe, Canada, USA) in the course of the largest ever study of the causes of type 2 diabetes announced the discovery of twelve new genetic links with the disease.
Experts emphasize that they have managed to identify new biological processes underlying the disease, which will tell the medicine of the future what to focus on when searching for effective treatment methods.
Recall that type 2 diabetes is caused by the inability of the body to adequately use insulin (a hormone produced by the pancreas) to control the level of glucose obtained from food. An increase in blood sugar levels damages the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart and main arteries.
Recently, the spread of type 2 diabetes has reached epidemic proportions along with the growth of obesity. According to some estimates, 180 million people in the world currently have diabetes.
Taking into account the twelve new genes, the total number of known DNA regions associated with type 2 diabetes increases to 38. The discovered genes are mainly involved in the work of pancreatic cells that produce insulin and control the activity of the hormone in the body. Each of them has only a very small effect on the risk of diabetes. Even taken together, they are not able to provide a clear forecast.
According to the head of the scientific group Mark McCarthy from the Center for Human Genetics at Oxford University (UK), some of the genes seem to play an important role in the fight against the number of beta cells of the pancreas (they produce insulin). This will probably help solve the long-standing mystery about the role of these cells in type 2 diabetes. In addition, it indicates the importance of developing treatments that are able to preserve or restore the number of beta cells.
Co-author of the study Jim Wilson from the University of Edinburgh (UK) notes another interesting conclusion. Some genes contain variants that increase the risk of developing other diseases not related to diabetes (skin and prostate cancer, heart disease), and also affect an increase in cholesterol levels.
During the study, the DNA of two groups was sequenced. In the first there were more than 8 thousand patients with type II diabetes and almost 40 thousand healthy people. In the second – 34 thousand first and 60 thousand second. Then the genetic variants found in the two groups were compared with each other.
The results of the study are published in the journal Nature Genetics: Benjamin F Voight et al., Twelve type 2 diabetes susceptibility loci identified through large-scale association analysis.
Prepared by Reuters: Largest diabetes gene search finds 12 new links.
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