IRP publishes the largest genomic study on type 2 diabetes in sub-Saharan African populations

Friday, July 19, 2019

Researchers show critical association between diabetes and previously unlinked ZRANB3 gene

National Institute of Health researchers have reported the largest genomic study of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in sub-Saharan Africans, with data from more than 5,000 individuals from Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. Researchers confirmed known genomic variants and identified a novel gene ZRANB3, which may influence susceptibility to the disease in sub-Saharan African populations. The gene could also influence the development of T2D in other populations and inform further research.

In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers analyzed genomic data available on participants through the Africa America Diabetes Mellitus study, the single largest diabetes genomic association study conducted on the continent. Using the information available from 5,231 people, they found many genomic variants to be significantly associated with T2D.

The findings replicate results for many of the variants which other research studies have already implicated in T2D in mostly European ancestry populations. The work was funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the Office of the Director at the National Institutes of Health.

“Africa is the original cradle of all humanity, to which all humans can trace their genetic origin,” said Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., co-author of the paper and senior investigator with the NHGRI Medical Genomics and Metabolic Genetics Branch. “Thus, studying the genomes of Africans offers important opportunities to understand genetic variation across all human populations.”