(Press-News.org) A study published in Nature Genetics today has found new evidence for a link between the body clock hormone melatonin and type 2 diabetes. The study found that people who carry rare genetic mutations in the receptor for melatonin have a much higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
The findings should help scientists to more accurately assess personal diabetes risk and could lead to the development of personalised treatments.
Previous research has found that people who work night shifts have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Studies have also found that if volunteers have their sleep disrupted repeatedly for three days, they temporarily develop symptoms of diabetes.
The body's sleep-wake cycle is controlled by the hormone melatonin, which has effects including drowsiness and lowering body temperature. In 2008, a genetic study led by Imperial College London discovered that people with common variations in the gene for MT2, a receptor for melatonin, have a slightly higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
The new study reveals that carrying any of four rare mutations in the MT2 gene increases a person's risk of developing type 2 diabetes six times. The release of insulin, which regulates blood sugar levels, is known to be regulated by melatonin. The researchers suggest that mutations in the MT2 gene may disrupt the link between the body clock and insulin release, leading to abnormal control of blood sugar.
Professor Philippe Froguel, from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, who led the study, said: "Blood sugar control is one of the many processes regulated by the body's biological clock. This study adds to our understanding of how the gene that carries the blueprint for a key component in the clock can influence people's risk of diabetes.
"We found very rare variants of the MT2 gene that have a much larger effect than more common variants discovered before. Although each mutation is rare, they are common in the sense that everyone has a lot of very rare mutations in their DNA. Cataloguing these mutations will enable us to much more accurately assess a person's risk of disease based on their genetics."
In the study, the Imperial team and their collaborators at several institutions in the UK and France examined the MT2 gene in 7,632 people to look for more unusual variants that have a bigger effect on disease risk. They found 40 variants associated with type 2 diabetes, four of which were very rare and rendered the receptor completely incapable of responding to melatonin. The scientists then confirmed the link with these four variants in an additional sample of 11,854 people.
Professor Froguel and his team analysed each mutation by testing what effect they have on the MT2 receptor in human cells in the lab. The mutations that completely prevented the receptor from working proved to have a very big effect on diabetes risk, suggesting that there is a direct link between MT2 and the disease.
INFORMATION:
The research was funded by the Wellcome Trust, the National Institute for Health Research and the Medical Research Council in the UK and the Agence National de la Recherche, the Contrat de Projets Etat-Région Nord-Pas-De-Calais, the Société Francophone du Diabète, the Fondation Recherche Médicale and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France.
For further information please contact:
Sam Wong
Research Media Officer
Imperial College London
Email: sam.wong@imperial.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0)20 7594 2198
Out of hours duty press officer: +44(0)7803 886 248
Notes to editors:
1. Journal reference
A. Bonnefond et al. 'Rare MTNR1B variants impairing melatonin receptor 1B function contribute to type 2 diabetes' Nature Genetics, published online 29 January 2012.
2. About Imperial College London
Consistently rated amongst the world's best universities, Imperial College London is a science-based institution with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research that attracts 14,000 students and 6,000 staff of the highest international quality. Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and business, delivering practical solutions that improve quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.
Since its foundation in 1907, Imperial's contributions to society have included the discovery of penicillin, the development of holography and the foundations of fibre optics. This commitment to the application of research for the benefit of all continues today, with current focuses including interdisciplinary collaborations to improve global health, tackle climate change, develop sustainable sources of energy and address security challenges.
In 2007, Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust formed the UK's first Academic Health Science Centre. This unique partnership aims to improve the quality of life of patients and populations by taking new discoveries and translating them into new therapies as quickly as possible.
Website: www.imperial.ac.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/imperialspark
Podcast: www.imperial.ac.uk/media/podcasts
3. About the Medical Research Council
For almost 100 years the Medical Research Council has improved the health of people in the UK and around the world by supporting the highest quality science. The MRC invests in world-class scientists. It has produced 29 Nobel Prize winners and sustains a flourishing environment for internationally recognised research. The MRC focuses on making an impact and provides the financial muscle and scientific expertise behind medical breakthroughs, including one of the first antibiotics penicillin, the structure of DNA and the lethal link between smoking and cancer. Today MRC funded scientists tackle research into the major health challenges of the 21st century. www.mrc.ac.uk
END
Led by researchers at University of Oxford (UK) and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) at Harvard University, (USA), more than 50 collaborators at over 30 scientific organizations around the globe have agreed on a common standard that will make possible the consistent description of enormous and radically different databases
compiled in fields ranging from genetics to stem cell science, to environmental studies.
The new standard provides a way for scientists in widely disparate fields to co-ordinate each other's findings by allowing behind-the-scenes combination ...
Genetics has provided surprising insights into why vaccines used in both the UK and US to combat serious childhood infections can eventually fail. The study, published today in Nature Genetics, which investigates how bacteria change their disguise to evade the vaccines, has implications for how future vaccines can be made more effective.
Pneumococcus (Streptococcus pneumoniae) causes potentially life-threatening diseases including pneumonia and meningitis. Pneumococcal infections are thought to kill around a million young children worldwide each year, though the success ...
The London based financial website www.Spread-Betting.org, which features a range of reviews, analysis and trading guides, has launched a new set of comparisons tables that compare and contrast a range of spread betting companies.
There is an array of financial spread betting companies that investors can choose from. However, these firms vary in many ways: Does the company offer candlestick charts? Are the markets open 24 hours a day? What kind of trading orders are available?
These are just some of the questions that spread bettors face when looking to sign up with ...
A team of UCLA scientists has found that the pathogen that causes leprosy has a remarkable ability to avoid the human immune system by inhibiting the antimicrobial responses important to our defenses.
In one of the first laboratory studies of its kind, researchers discovered that the leprosy pathogen Mycobacterium leprae was able to reduce and evade immune activity that is dependent on vitamin D, a natural hormone that plays an essential role in the body's fight against infections.
The pathogen manipulated micro-RNAs, tiny molecules made of ribonucleic acids that ...
Flexible Lifeline Systems, Inc. today announced the completion of the design and installation of a series of unique and innovative Fall Protection Anchors for Sun Products Facility in Houston, TX.
Flexible Lifeline Systems provided a series of two-user fall protection anchors on Sun's above ground storage tanks. The unique design incorporated a clamping system eliminating any hot work and penetration of the tanks. FLS has designed and safely installed hundreds of fall protection anchors on above ground storage tanks with little to no effect on customer's ongoing operations. ...
Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are the top marine predator, wherever they are found, and seem to eat everything from schools of small fish to large baleen whales, over twice their own size. The increase in hunting territories available to killer whales in the Arctic due to climate change and melting sea ice could seriously affect the marine ecosystem balance. New research published in BioMed Central's re-launched open access journal Aquatic Biosystems has combined scientific observations with Canadian Inuit traditional knowledge to determine killer whale behaviour and diet ...
Halos, starbursts, and glare are all potential complications with LASIK surgery. These instances can be caused by two factors:
- The corneal flap not adhering properly after surgery
- The pupil dilating to a size larger than the treatment zone
Your risk for corneal flap problems may be reduced with bladeless LASIK, but this complication is still possible no matter what type of LASIK you choose to have.
Fortunately, most people experience this rare side effect for little more than 30 days. During this period, you will have follow-up visits with your eye doctor. ...
Since the introduction of BOTOX Cosmetic, nonsurgical facial rejuvenation treatments have exploded. They have become the most popular option for people seeking to rejuvenate their appearance, and have led to a significant decline in the popularity of facelifts. However, in recent years the trend has been reversing. People have come to realize that a facelift has certain benefits no nonsurgical treatment can match.
Nothing Does What a Facelift Does
There is currently no nonsurgical facial rejuvenation procedure that can accomplish what a facelift can. Facial aging ...
The ideal male contraceptive would be inexpensive, reliable, and reversible. It would need to be long acting but have few side effects. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology used commercially available therapeutic ultrasound equipment to reduce sperm counts of male rats to levels which would result in infertility in humans.
Ultrasound's potential as a male contraceptive was first reported nearly 40 years ago. However the equipment used is now outdated and no longer available. Researchers from the Department ...
A systematic review and meta-analysis carried out by researchers at the University of Exeter Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD) has found that differences in systolic blood pressure between arms could be a useful indicator of the likelihood of vascular risk and death.
The findings add support to the calls for both-arm blood pressure checks to be performed as standard.
The review is published in The Lancet online today (30th January) and the study is supported by the Royal College of General Practitioners, the South West GP Trust and the National Institute ...
