Type 2 Diabetes Genes Identified
Posted on: Tuesday, 20 February 2007, 12:00 CST
A Canadian-led international study has identified four genes that increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The study was led by McGill University Health Center endocrinologist Dr. Rob Sladek and involved scientists from the Pasteur Institute in France, the University of Montreal, Imperial College London and the Montreal Diabetes Research Center.
Sladek and colleagues searched the entire human genome to identify genes that predispose individuals to developing diabetes. By comparing hundreds of thousands of DNA fragments from patients with diabetes to those from non-diabetic individuals, they discovered patients who develop diabetes share common gene variants on chromosomes 8, 10 and 11.
Of the four genes we have identified, two are involved in the development or function of insulin-secreting cells and one plays a role in the transport of zinc, an important mineral required for the production of insulin, said Sladek.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes in adults and is becoming increasingly common in children.
The researchers say their new finding helps identify the population at the highest risk of developing the disease.
Source: United Press International
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