Gene To Blame For Diabetes And Heart Disease?
Author: Victoria Aly
Time for reading: ~2
minutes
Last Updated:
August 08, 2022
People with this gene have higher levels of dangerous fats in their blood. Their body processes sugar more difficult. This puts them at a 20% higher risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
The IRS1 gene helps lean people maintain their weight, but also predisposes them to diabetes and heart disease, a study shows.
The researchers compared the genetic codes of more than 75,000 people and found that the link was particularly strong in men.
According to the results, people who have the gene in question have higher levels of dangerous fats in their blood and their bodies have a harder time processing sugar. This puts them at a 20% higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes - a form that usually develops in middle age and is often associated with obesity.
IRS1 determines a lower accumulation of subcutaneous adipose tissue. However, those who have the gene may be accumulating fat elsewhere, experts say.
If fat is around the heart, liver or other organs, it can lead to life-threatening conditions.
The results show that not only overweight people are prone to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Good looks and a slim figure do not always mean that a person is healthy and protected from disease, says lead author Dr. Ruth Los of the MRC Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge. Especially men who have a specific form of the IRS1 gene are at risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
The effect is more pronounced in the stronger sex because men store less fat than women and are more sensitive to changes in their provision, explains Dr. Ruth Los.
The study will provide new information on why not all weak people are healthy and vice versa - why not all overweight people are at risk of metabolic diseases, explains Prof. Nick Wareham, a participant in the study.
The study, published in the journal Nature Genetics , involved research teams from 72 institutions in 10 countries.
And yet, a gene that causes obesity , scientists have identified in a recent study. The breakthrough will be useful for finding effective treatments for obesity-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
A link has been established between the KLF14 gene and the levels of "distant" genes found in adipose tissue, indicating that the gene acts as a regulator, the researchers explained. Until now, it was not known what role the KLF14 gene , which is linked to type 2 diabetes and cholesterol levels, plays .
According to the research team, this is the first large study to show how a small change in one regulatory regulator can lead to a wave of other metabolic effects in other genes.
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