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Variation in the gene called CDKAL1 is associated with risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study to be published online in Nature Genetics.
Valgerdur Steinthorsdottir and colleagues discovered this new risk variant through a large-scale survey in Iceland in which they compared the frequencies of several hundred thousand common genetic variants in healthy individuals with those who have the disease. They subsequently replicated the association between type 2 diabetes and a variant in CDKAL1 in samples from several independent populations of European or Han Chinese ancestry. Individuals with two copies of the risk variant were found to be at increased risk for developing disease compared to individuals with only a single copy of the risk variant. Such individuals also had approximately 20% less insulin response than individuals with only one copy or non-carriers, suggesting that the variant may confer risk of type 2 diabetes through reduced insulin secretion. Author contacts: Edward Farmer (Director of Corporate Communication, deCODE genetics Inc)
E-mail: edward.farmer@decode.is Valgerdur Steinthorsdottir (deCODE Genetics, Reykjavik, Iceland)
E-mail: vstein@decode.is Kari Stefansson (deCODE Genetics, Reykjavik, Iceland)
E-mail: kstefans@decode.is Abstract available online. (C) Nature Genetics press release.
Message posted by: Trevor M. D'Souza
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