Scientists who carried out the largest genome-wide study on type 2 diabetes to date have identified new genetic markers for the condition, helping to generate risk scores for diabetes complications.
The findings of the study, which involved a team of international researchers, help to further the understanding of genetic variants and how type 2 diabetes develops.
Knowing more about the disease mechanisms can help to predict a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes, allowing for early intervention.
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In this latest study, scientists identified eight distinct mechanistic collections of genetic variants linked to type 2 diabetes.
In addition, the team found links between individual clusters and diabetes complications.
The examined data from a diverse group made up of more than 2.5 million people, 428,452 of whom have type 2 diabetes.
Co-senior author Cassandra Spracklen, assistant professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at University of Massachusetts Amherst, said: “We tried to figure out some of the mechanisms for how these genetic variants are working – and we did.
“We found eight clusters of type 2 diabetes-associated variants that have also been associated with other diabetes risk factors – such as obesity and liver-lipid metabolism – suggesting the mechanisms for how the variants may be acting to cause diabetes.
“Then we asked if these clusters were also associated with type 2 diabetes complications? And we found that several of them to also associated with vascular complications, such as coronary artery disease and end-stage diabetic nephropathy.”
For many of the millions of people with type 2 diabetes, treatment is still a case of trial and error, with options for tailored, precision medicine still very limited.
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Furthering the understanding of how the disease develops and progresses can highlight an individual’s risk of developing the condition.
Assistant professor Spracklen said: “We’re trying to understand how diabetes develops. And we’re trying to better understand how these genetic variants are actually working within a biological tissue or at the cellular level, which can ultimately lead to new drug targets and treatments.”
The authors of the research conclude: “Our findings…may offer a route to optimise global access to genetically informed diabetes care.”
Read the study in the journal, Nature.
