More genetic variants that influence blood sugar and insulin have been identified.
A major international study with leadership from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers has identified 10 new gene variants associated with blood sugar or insulin levels. Two of these novel variants and three that earlier studies associated with glucose levels were also found to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Along with a related study from members of the same research consortium, associating additional genetic variants with the metabolic response to a sugary meal, the report will appear in Nature Genetics and has been released on-line.
“Only four gene variants had previously been associated with glucose metabolism, and just one of them was known to affect type 2 diabetes. With more genes identified, we can see patterns emerge,” says Jose Florez, MD, PhD, of the MGH Diabetes Unit and the Center for Human Genetic Research, co-lead author of the report. “Finding these new pathways can help us better understand how glucose is regulated, distinguish between normal and pathological glucose variations and develop potential new therapies for type 2 diabetes.
In the next 5-10 years, I believe that we will witness more discoveries about the meaning of genetic variants than we’ve seen in all years prior to that because genetic testing costs are falling so far so fast. Costs have dropped by orders of magnitude and continue to drop rapidly. Scientists face a blizzard of data from which they will be able to tease out many discoveries.
In the next 5-10 years, I believe that we will witness more discoveries about the meaning of genetic variants than we’ve seen in all years prior to that because genetic testing costs are falling so far so fast. Costs have dropped by orders of magnitude and continue to drop rapidly. Scientists face a blizzard of data from which they will be able to tease out many discoveries.
Esam Omeish
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