Type 2 Diabetes Gene Discovered in Both Mice and Humans

Researchers have found that mice also have similar traits of type 2 diabetes as humans.

Recent findings published in the journal Cell Metabolism revealed that the DNA and phenotypes of 183 related mice carried certain clinical features that were similar to the risks for developing the disease.

"The mice with a high-fat diet are more or less likely to develop diabetes depending on whether this gene is active or not," said study co-researcher Evan Williams, LISP PhD student, in a news release. "By combining our various 'layers' of information, we were able to establish exactly the process that leads from the presence of this gene to an increased risk of diabetes."

For the study, researchers analyzed the presence of hundreds of proteins from a single sample to establish what experts called each individual's "proteome."

Furthermore, researchers also found evidence that low urinary levels of a specific "metabolite" that varies in concentration depending on the presence of the identified gene can help predict diabetes in mice.

Thanks to these findings, researchers were able to easily detect a similar presence of symptoms of the disease in humans, as well. 

"It is very exciting to see that we can now translate research results from one species to another," Williams concluded. "To me, a new age for biology, and soon medicine, has just begun."