Genome screening uncovers potential new targets for Type II diabetes

Research lead

An international group of scientists has identified a genetic variation in people with Type II diabetes that affects how the body’s muscle cells respond to the hormone insulin. This points to a potential new mechanism of action for drugs to treat the disease.

Previous studies have identified several genetic variations in Type II diabetes that affect how insulin is produced in the pancreas. This is the first study to identify genes that impair the ability of the body’s muscle cells to use insulin to generate energy.

The researchers, from institutions including Imperial College London, McGill University, Canada, CNRS, France, and the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, looked for genetic markers in over 14,000 people and identified four variations associated with Type II diabetes. One of these was located near a gene called IRS1, which makes a protein that prompts cells to start taking in glucose from the blood when it is activated by insulin. The researchers believe that the variant they have identified interrupts this process, impairing a cell’s ability to make energy from glucose.

Philippe Froguel from the Department of Genomic Medicine at Imperial College London, said, “This is the first genetic evidence that a defect in the way insulin works in muscles can contribute to diabetes.

He added, “It is now clear that several drugs should be used together to control this disease. Our new study provides scientists developing treatments with a straightforward target for a new drug to treat Type II diabetes.”