Type 2 diabetes is a common metabolic disease where blood sugar levels become too high.
It happens because certain cells in the pancreas, called β-cells, don’t produce enough insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar.
High blood sugar levels can lead to various health problems. Nearly 9% of adults in the United States have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, which is influenced by both genetics and lifestyle factors.
A Broader Genetic Approach
Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have taken a comprehensive approach to understand the genetics behind type 2 diabetes.
Previous studies mainly focused on individual genes. However, in their study published in Cell Metabolism, the researchers examined the impact of 20 different genes simultaneously.
According to senior co-author Shuibing Chen, a professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, it’s unlikely that these diabetes-related genes act independently.
By shutting down each of these genes one by one and comparing the effects on cell behavior and genetics, they identified common patterns.
The Role of Genetics in Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors like obesity and chronic stress.
Researchers have identified over 290 locations in the genome where changes in DNA can increase the risk of developing the disease. Some of these are within known genes, while most are found in regions that control nearby genes.
For their study, the research team focused on 20 genes that were clearly linked to the disease. They used the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 to deactivate these genes, one at a time, in 20 sets of identical stem cells.
These stem cells were capable of becoming any type of mature cell, but the researchers guided them to become insulin-producing β-cells. They then examined how losing each gene affected insulin production and β-cell health.
Key Discoveries
The researchers developed their own computational models to analyze the vast amount of data they collected, leading to several important findings:
Four New Pathways: By comparing the effects of all 20 gene mutations on β-cells, they discovered four additional genes that contribute to insulin production through previously unknown pathways.
Master Controller Gene: Among the original 20 genes, only one, called HNF4A, played a role in all five traits related to insulin production and β-cell health. It acts as a master controller, regulating the activity of other genes.
Interference with Gene Regulation: They explained how a small genetic variation, located in the space between genes, increases the risk of diabetes by disrupting HNF4A’s ability to regulate nearby genes.
Potential Impact
The findings of this study and others like it hold promise for improving patient outcomes.
Understanding the genetic and environmental factors involved is crucial for preventing and effectively treating type 2 diabetes.
Moreover, this research approach may have implications beyond diabetes, extending to other common diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Crohn’s disease, which also involve complex genetic factors.
In essence, this comprehensive genetic study provides valuable insights into the intricate genetics of type 2 diabetes and offers a foundation for future research to enhance our understanding of the condition and develop improved prevention and treatment strategies.
If you care about blood sugar, please read studies about why blood sugar is high in the morning, and how to cook sweet potatoes without increasing blood sugar.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about 9 unhealthy habits that damage your brain, and results showing this stuff in cannabis may protect aging brain, treat Alzheimer’s.
The research findings can be found in Cell Metabolism.
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