The newly discovered gene, SUMO-4, controls the activity of proteins that regulate the intensity and duration of immune responses, the researchers report in the August issue of Nature Genetics.

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The scientists found that a certain mutation of that gene increases the risk of type 1 diabetes. They discovered this by examining the transmission of genes from parents to children in nearly 1 000 diabetic families from across the world.

Understanding the diabetes mechanism
"This helps us understand how type 1 diabetes works, and we can use this improved understanding to better predict who will get the disease and design new intervention strategies for those who do," Dr Jin-Xiong She, director of the college's Center for Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine, said in a prepared statement.

When the mutation encounters an environmental trigger, such as an infection, it throws off the immune system and initiates an autoimmune response that eventually attacks the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. – (HealthDayNews)

Read more:
Diabetes Centre

 

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