‘Jumping Gene’ Diminishes The Effect Of New Type 2 Diabetes Risk Gene
Research led by the German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE) has identified a new gene associated with diabetes, together with a mechanism that makes obese mice less susceptible to diabetes. A genomic fragment that occurs naturally in some mouse strains diminishes the activity of the risk gene Zfp69. The researchers also found that the corresponding human gene (ZNF642) is especially active in overweight individuals with diabetes.The results of the study also involved scientists from the University of Leipzig and the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 1.6 billion people are overweight worldwide. The number of people with type 2 diabetes has increased accordingly to 230 million. The risk of developing type 2 diabetes is approximately 50% hereditary, but is also dependent on nutrition and lifestyle factors.in the present study, the researchers compared the genomes of different mouse strains.[…]