In search of "diabetes genes"
Russian and Estonian scientists will reveal the secrets of type 2 diabetes
Geneticists from St. Petersburg State University and their colleagues from Estonia will soon create one of the largest collections of diabetic blood samples, which will help them understand which mutations contribute to the development of this disease and how it can be prevented. This is reported by the press service of the university.
"Studies conducted on twins show that the role of genetics in the development of this disease is at least 70-80%. It is impossible not to take this factor into account. Today, the diagnosis of diabetes is based on serious criteria, for example, an increased body mass index, but this is already the beginning of the disease, and there are practically no tools for its early detection," says Andrey Glotov, head of the Laboratory of biobanking and Genomic Medicine at St. Petersburg State University.
According to WHO statistics, there are 347 million patients with diabetes mellitus in the world, and approximately every 9 out of 10 diabetics suffer from type 2 diabetes resulting from an increase in the body's immunity to insulin. 80% of diabetics live in low- and middle-income countries. By 2030, diabetes will become the seventh cause of death worldwide.
In addition to high blood sugar levels, which have an extremely negative effect on the condition of the eyes, muscles and many other organs, diabetes has other side effects. For example, scientists have recently discovered that the acquisition of insulin deficiency often leads to the development of male infertility, and all diabetics are about 2-3 times more likely to suffer from depression than other categories of citizens.
Today, scientists believe that type 2 diabetes, like its rarer "cousin", develops also for genetic reasons. Which mutations contribute to the development of insulin immunity, scientists do not yet know what prevents the creation of drugs that would prevent the development of this disease, and not suppress its symptoms.
This task, as Glotov noted, can be solved in the near future by Russian and Estonian scientists collecting one of the largest collections of genetic material and blood samples belonging to diabetics.
According to the press service of St. Petersburg State University, the bases for collecting biomaterials will be the Pskov Regional Clinical Hospital, the Ott Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductology in St. Petersburg, St. George City Hospital and other medical institutions of the northern capital.
In addition to Russian scientists, Estonian geneticists working at one of the most famous genomic centers of the European Union, the University of Tartu, are taking part in the project.
The analysis and comparison of the genomes of two thousand diabetics and a large number of healthy people, scientists hope, will help them identify those genes in which mutations are associated with the fact that the patient's cells gradually stop responding to insulin, and the concentration of glucose in his blood increases.
In the past, such studies were conducted mainly on residents of the United States or European countries, which will not always reflect what factors influence the development of diabetes among Russians and residents of neighboring countries. This project, which is jointly conducted by Russia and Estonia within the framework of the Russia–Estonia 2014-2020 cross-border cooperation program, will help fill this gap.
In addition to solving purely scientific tasks, the collection and analysis of biomaterials, as Yulia Nasikhova, senior researcher at the Laboratory of Biobanking and Genomic Medicine of St. Petersburg State University, added, will help geneticists improve understanding of the nature of diabetes among therapists and endocrinologists. Scientists will hold several educational seminars among them, which will help Russian and Estonian doctors to work more effectively with patients and help them better.
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