Laboratory work conducted by Dr. Johan Auwerx and Dr. Ruedi Aebersold confirmed a pathological process indicating the presence of type 2 diabetes in both mice and men. Researchers conducted an in-depth genome and phenome (phenotypic characteristics) study of a family of mice comprised of 183 members. The initial approach was to
investigate the metabolic process of two twin mice who endured different environmental
and diet lifestyles. The influence from the environment directly correlates to
the expression of certain genes. The expression of these genes determines the
risk of developing certain diseases; in this study – type 2 diabetes. To obtain further evidence, a spectroscopy technique was used to identify hundreds of proteins in each individual. Researchers found a particular gene located on Chromosome 2 that was linked to type 2 diabetes.
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| The image above displays the expression of the gene researchers discovered in the development of type 2 diabetes. |
According to Evan Williams, PhD student and article co-author, “The
mice with a high-fat diet are more or less likely to develop diabetes depending
on whether this gene is active or not [1].” The diabetic mice also displayed
low urinary levels of a metabolite called 2-aminoadipate. The presence of 2-aminoadipate
was directly related to the presence of the particular gene, and not related to
a rodents body fat. This prompted an investigation in humans. Of nearly 1000
patients, those who were diabetic showed a considerably lower presence of 2-aminoadipate
than those who were not. The urinary marker identified by the researches will
allow doctors to easily detect type 2 diabetes in new patients. It is fascinating
to see the correlation between mice and humans. Since our genomes are so
closely related, this allows researchers to identify new techniques to discover other related diseases using a similar approach as Auwerx and Aebersold.
Article Related - Metabolite 2-Aminoadipate: http://www.hmdb.ca/metabolites/hmdb00510
this co-relation of type 2 diabetes gene between humans and mice is very interesting. The urinary marker can defiantly be used to diagnose this ailment among the large number of people being diagnosed each year. Also pharmaceutical companies would be able to develop new medicines for type 2 diabetes using mice as the model of their experiment.
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