By Margaret Munro
A Canadian-led team that can "read" an individual's DNA in just minutes has uncovered several genes that make people susceptible to the most common form of diabetes.
crystal Plating Earring"And this is just the tip of the iceberg," says Dr. Constantin Polychronakos of Montreal's McGill University, who co-led the international team that's shown the power of new scanning techniques to find genes associated with common disease.
Polychronakos says the field is moving so quickly it will soon be possible to predict from birth what ailments someone is prone to.
"You'd be able to take a drop of blood from a newborn and determine if they have genes associated with diabetes, or heart disease or Alzheimer's or any of the common health problems," says Polychronakos, acknowledging there would be sticky social and ethical issues associated with such gene profiling.
"I'm not saying we should be doing this, but I'm saying we will be able to do this in a few years. We will have the capability."
For the work on diabetes, published online Sunday by the journal Nature, Polychronakos and his colleagues scanned DNA from almost 7,000 individuals and turned up five genes associated with Type 2 diabetes.
"For 7,000 people, it took us a couple of months to do the whole thing," Polychronakos said in an interview.
"With conventional methods it would have taken 20 years to do all the DNA tests. It would have been virtually impossible."
The Montreal team used high-tech probes widely use in gene studies to test almost 500,000 gene regions at once.
"You can do half a million DNA tests on one individual in a matter of a few minutes," explains Polychronakos.
They then honed in on the gene variations that set people with Type 2 diabetes apart. Four of them confer a significant risk for developing the disease, and confirmed an already known association between the TCF7L2 wholesale colthing gene and Type 2 diabetes. The scientists say the five variations might account for 70 per cent of the genetic risk associated with Type 2 diabetes, an increasingly common and debilitating disease that affects more than 1.3 million Canadians.
The researchers are now racing to find other genes associated with the disease and expect to soon have a list of at least 20 genes that increase susceptibility to the disease. They say knowing these genes will lead to "more intelligent" diagnosis and treatment.
"Discovering the genes is the first step in a long road," says Polychronakos.
The researchers say a complex interplay between genetics, lifestyle and environment contribute to Type 2 diabetes, which is associated with overeating and lack of exercise. The genetic factors help explain why one 'couch potato' develops the disease while another doesn't, says Polychronakos, an endocrinologist who specializes in genetics.
The genes are related to the control of insulin secretion and pancreatic development. One gene directs production of a protein that helps move zinc ions around and is found in cells that make and release insulin. Laguna Beach
The researchers say therapies targeting zinc may be worth exploring. Polychronakos cautions that diabetics should not rush out and increase their intake of zinc, which can be toxic.
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