Recently, researchers from Perelman Medical School, the University of Pennsylvania, conducted a large number of genetic data analysis, deeply analyzed the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, and clarified the relationship between type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. The related research results has been published in the international journal Nature Genetics.

Diabetes is a group of clinical manifestations of glucose metabolism disorders as the main manifestation. There are about 400 million diabetics in the world, of which about 95% are type 2 diabetes. If not controlled, it will lead to a series of health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and vision disorders. For the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, we are not very clear. Heart disease is also one of the killers of human health, more than half of those who died of heart disease died of coronary heart disease. At the same time, diabetes is also a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, what is the biological relationship between the two? We did not know before.

In this study, the researchers conducted a comprehensive study of the "genetic structure" of coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes through a new technique of Genome-wide Association study (GWAS) to identify disease-related loci. By studying the genome data of more than 250,000 people, they were able to confirm the majority of known diabetes "risk genes" and found 16 new types of diabetes genetic risk factors, as well as a new genetic risk factor for coronary heart disease; Most of the loci known to be associated with a higher risk of diabetes mellitus are also associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease. Eight of the specific genetic variants closely related to these two diseases have been identified by further analysis. Researchers have found that, overall, the genetic linkages between diseases appear to play a role in one direction, so the risk genes for type 2 diabetes are more likely to be associated with higher risk of coronary heart disease than in other ways.

At present, the treatment for these two diseases are based on drug treatment. The main drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes are: sulfonylurea drugs, thiazolidinedione drugs, SGLT-2 inhibitors, DPP-4 inhibitors [Vildagliptin (intermediate 3-amino-1-adamantanol), As well as biguanides, etc.; the main drugs for the treatment of coronary heart disease are: nitrates, antithrombotic drugs [aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), Clopidogrel (intermediate 2-thienethylethylamine), fibrinolytic drugs, Lipid-lowering drugs and so on. But these drugs can be said to be a temporary solution, and can not fundamentally cure the disease.

The study identified genetic mutations associated with the risks of both diseases, and from the point of drug development, it could help us develop new drugs or therapies that reduce the risk of both diseases. However, the priority of genes for disease risk and the molecular mechanisms involved need to be further clarified.