Newly discovered gene could be crucial for the treatment of diabetes

Breakthrough in the future fight against diabetes?

Medics have now managed to identify a new gene that could prove critical in the fight against diabetes. Impairment in this particular gene can interfere with the production of insulin, leading to diabetes.

The scientists at the William Harvey Research Institute at Queen Mary University of London found in their recent research that a newly identified gene could be crucial for the onset of diabetes. The experts published the results of their study in the journal "PNAS".

More and more people are suffering from diabetes. Experts discovered for the first time a gene, which has a strong effect on the regulation of insulin. (Image: 6okean / fotolia.com)

MAFA gene affects the regulation of insulin

The newly discovered gene has a strong effect on the regulation of insulin. Insulin is a key hormone in diabetes disorders. The gene called MAFA may prove to be critical in high and low blood glucose conditions, experts say. Diabetes includes a group of disorders where blood sugar levels are high. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), diabetes will be among the diseases causing the most deaths worldwide by 2030.

Mutation in a single gene can cause diabetes

It is estimated that approximately 30.3 million people in the United States live with diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form, followed by type 1 diabetes. But there are some rarer forms of the disease, which account for about one to four percent of cases in the US, the authors explain. These forms of diabetes arise from a mutation in a single gene, which is shared by one or both parents.

Gene mutation can cause so-called insulinomas

The newly discovered gene mutation can cause both diabetes and so-called insulinomas. An insulinoma is a rare insulin-producing tumor of the pancreas. These tumors are typically triggered by low blood sugar levels. In contrast, diabetes leads to greatly increased blood sugar levels. The researchers were initially surprised by the association of two seemingly conflicting conditions within the same families (diabetes and insulinomas), explains author Professor Marta Korbonits of Queen Mary University of London.

Gene defect affects the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas

The results of the study showed that the same genetic defect can also affect the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas, leading to these two opposing diseases, adds Korbonits. Another important discovery of the study was the link between diabetes and gender.

Men are more likely to have diabetes while women have insulinomas

The investigation found that men were more prone to developing diabetes. Insulinomas, on the other hand, are more common in women. However, the reasons are not yet known, the researchers say. The physicians studied a family in which several individuals suffered from diabetes, while other members of the family developed insulinomas in their pancreas.

Mutant protein is more stable and has a longer lifespan

The findings could prove to be a groundbreaking intervention in the field of diabetes management, the researchers explain. This is the first time that a defect in the so-called MAFA gene has been linked to a disease. The resulting mutant protein proved to be abnormally stable, had a longer life in the cell and was therefore significantly more abundant in the beta cells than in its normal version, the researchers explain. (As)