NEW GENE CAUSING TYPE 2 DIABETES DISCOVERED
The discovery of a new gene causing Type 2
diabetes in the Indian population by an entirely Indian cast of researchers has
opened up a hitherto unknown and new line of enquiry into the mechanism of the disease.According
to a paper published in the December edition of Diabetes, the gene was identified after running through a massive
sample size of over 12,500 persons in the Indian subcontinent. “The new gene
that was identified is a neuro gene, with no known association with Diabetes.
So what is it doing in Type 2 Diabetes?” the principal investigator of the
study, Dwaipayan Bharadwaj, said. He is with the Genomics and Molecular
Medicine Unit, Council for Scientiļ¬c and Industrial Research-Institute of
Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi.“Among the common variants, this is the
major variant in the Indian population. So it certainly has a role to play. My
hypothesis is, perhaps, diabetes is more a neurological disorder – it probably
explains the temptation to eat when you see a plate of good food in front of
you,” Dr. Bharadwaj added. This gene increases the risk of developing Type 2
Diabetes to 1.6 times higher in the Indian population.
The involvement of a neuro gene opens up a
spectacularly new area, said Nikhil Tandon, one of the authors, who is a
professor of Endocrinology at AIIMS. It facilitates a potentially new line of
enquiry into understanding of the mechanism of this disease. “This gene is a
synaptic transporter. Maybe there is an issue with the way insulin is being
transported? Various functional studies have been lined up down the road,” he
said. Understanding the mechanism will translate to better diagnostics and
treatment methods, though that is still in the distant future, he added.The
association of this gene with diabetes in the Indian population is higher and
stronger than any other gene, the authors explain.The other key point in this
study, Dr. Bharadwaj explains, is that it is entirely Indian with a massive
sample size. The two groups that were studied included North Indians, and
Dravidians, the latter sample provided from the Chennai-based Madras Diabetes
Research Foundation – Indian Council for Medical Research Advanced Centre for
Genomics of Diabetes.
Dr. Tandon said, “If you look at all
collaborative research in genetics, most of them are initiated and driven by
developed country partners. Even if there are Indians, they are possibly one of
a large body of investigators. It is an important point that a study of this
magnitude has been conceived in India, funded by Indian money (CSIR), and was
completely executed by Indians.”Bringing to play all the 60 known genes causing
diabetes still explains only about 10 per cent of the risk of diabetes, Dr.
Bharadwaj says. There is a huge role for environmental and lifestyle risk
factors on the disease. Dr. Tandon added, “It does mean that even if you have
bad genes, you can sort yourself out.”
Prof. John Kurakar
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