Genetic links to diabetes found

A major international study has uncovered six new regions of the genetic code linked to type 2 diabetes, including one possibly related to prostate cancer.

The new discoveries bring the total number of genetic variations known to raise the risk of type 2 diabetes to 16. Each on its own has only a small influence, but their combined impact may be powerful.

Scientists hope the findings will further understanding of the disease and open new avenues for developing treatments.

Diabetes, which occurs when the body failed to regulate blood sugar levels properly, is thought to affect more than two million people in the UK and another 750,000 who are unaware of their condition. Of these, the vast majority are cases of type 2 diabetes, which is strongly associated with obesity. Type 1, or insulin-dependent diabetes, is an autoimmune disease which only affects around 300,000 people.

In type 2 diabetes, the body stops responding properly to insulin produced by cells in the pancreas, which may also make too little of the hormone.

Insulin controls the uptake of glucose used to provide cells with energy. When the system goes wrong, levels of blood sugar rise which, over years, can cause serious damage to the heart, kidneys and other major organs.

The new study, published online in the journal Nature Genetics, involved 90 researchers from more than 40 European and US centres who pooled and analysed genetic data gathered from more than 70,000 people. They were looking for differences in the geneteic code that make some people more susceptible to type 2 diabetes than others.

Previously the same scientists, and others, found 10 genetic variations associated with the disease.

The research identified "loci" - regions of the genetic code containing differences in DNA composition linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Each locus harboured genes in which the variations may be found, but pinpointing precisely which genes are involved will take more work. Genes are strands of DNA that provide the coded instructions for making proteins.

One surprise was a variant in the location of a gene called JAZF1, recently shown to play a role in prostate cancer. It is the second example of a gene which may affect both prostate cancer and type 2 diabetes.

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