STANFORD, Calif., Sep 23, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- U.S. scientists say they've
determined type 1 diabetes might not be due to bad genes, but rather to good
genes behaving badly.
Because type 1 diabetes typically runs in families, scientists have looked for
inborn genetic errors or gene variants. But now Stanford University researchers
led by Dr. C. Garrison Fathman have discovered the critical difference between
health and disease might reside not in an individual's genetic blueprint, but in
how those genes are "expressed" -- that is, how the translation of genetic
information into proteins or RNA is switched on and off.
Fathman said his findings suggest type 1 diabetes might not result from genetic
mutations but from differences in how normal genes and gene variants are turned
on and off during disease progression. In addition to identifying altered genes
that might indicate potential avenues for therapeutic or preventive treatments,
the researchers said they also found patterns of coordinated gene expression
that may prove useful as biomarkers of disease onset or progression.
The study was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases
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Copyright 2008 by United Press International