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New genetic regions associated with type 2 diabetes identified
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Researchers have discovered seven new loci associated with type 2 diabetes, according to study findings published in Nature Genetics.
“Although the genetic effects may be small, each signal tells us something new about the biology of the disease,” Anubha Mahajan, PhD, of Oxford University, said in a press release. “These findings may lead us to new ways of thinking about the disease, with the aim ultimately of developing novel therapies to treat and prevent diabetes. There’s every reason to expect that drugs acting on these biological processes would have a far larger impact on an individual’s diabetes than the genetic effects we have discovered.”
The researchers used meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), including 26,488 patients and 83,964 controls of European, East Asian, South Asian, Mexican and Mexican-American descent.
“One of the striking features of these data is how much of the genetic variation that influences diabetes is shared between major ethnic groups,” Mark McCarthy, MD, of the University of Oxford, said in the release. “This has allowed us to combine data from more than 50 studies from across the globe to discover new genetic regions affecting risk of diabetes.”
The researchers recognized an overlap in signals between populations, which identified an additional 21,491 cases and 55,647 controls of European ancestry, according to data.
Some new loci achieving genome-wide significance were TMEM154, FAF1, MPHOSPH9, LPP and POU5F1-TCF19, which is located in the major histocompatibility complex and essential to immune response. New loci also included single nucleotide polymorphisms mapped to ARL15 and SSR1-RREB1, which have been previously identified in the regulation of fasting insulin and glucose, respectively.
Disclosure: Four researchers are employed by deCODE Genetics/Amgen Inc. One researcher reports stock in GlaxoSmithKline and Incyte.
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