The genetic study of people with Down syndrome has helped identify a gene now linked to type 2 diabetes, opening a door to new treatments.
An international team led by Damien Keating of the Flinders University, in Australia, compared the genes involved in the insulin secretion of patients with diabetes.After a long comparison process, it was possible to identify that the RCAN1 gene is common between them.
Of the 5,000 genes studied, the RCAN1 was experienced in mice to see the effects, as a consequence, the discovery.The gene causes the cells to segregate less insulin in the presence of a high glucose because of the reason "many people with Down syndrome experience a low insulin secretion, mitochondrial dysfunctions and a high oxidative stress in the beta cells producers of insulin inThe pancreas. All these conditions also occur in people with type 2 diabetes, "Keating explained.
Likewise, the scientist confirmed that the result of the study that not only explains the diabetes trend in people with Down syndrome, also reveals the function that the gene can have in the development of type 2 diabetes. So it is expected that theDiscovery contributes to the development of medications that improve cell function.