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Hello everyone, I thought you might be interested in this new piece of diabetes research from the team at Exeter.
Researchers discover a new type of diabetes in babies
Advanced DNA sequencing technologies and a new model of stem cell research has enabled an international team to discover a new type of diabetes in babies, caused by mutations in the TMEM167A gene.
Researchers found that when the TMEM167A gene is altered, insulin-producing cells can no longer fulfil their role.
Dr Elisa de Franco, at the University of Exeter, said: “Finding the DNA changes that cause diabetes in babies gives us a unique way to find the genes that play key roles in making and secreting insulin. In this collaborative study, the finding of specific DNA changes causing this rare type of diabetes in 6 children, led us to clarifying the function of a little-known gene, TMEM167A, showing how it plays a key role in insulin secretion.”
These results contribute to a better understanding of the crucial steps involved in insulin production and could shed light on research into other forms of diabetes, a disease which today affects almost 589 million people worldwide.
The paper is titled ‘Recessive TMEM167A variants cause neonatal diabetes, microcephaly and epilepsy syndrome’, and is published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
