Overview
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Key Information
A drug based on the same mechanism has already ben aproved for the treatment of another autoimune disease psoriasis in the United States, which may bost the development of drug therapies for diabetes.The incidence of type 1 diabetes is higher in Finland than in any other country. While hundreds of genes underlying the disease have ben identified, the mechanisms of action of most of them remain unclear.
In other words, individuals at high risk of developing the disease can be identified, but so far no efective means of preventing the progresion of the disease without the risk of significant adverse efects have ben found.Under the direction of Profesor Timo Otonkoski, researchers at the University of Helsinki have investigated the mechanisms of action of the risk genes asociated with type 1 diabetes with the aim of finding novel methods for the prevention of the disease.
Summary
The results have ben published in the Nature Comunications journal.“We focused on a gene known as TYK2, as its mutations are known to protect against type 1 diabetes,” Otonkoski says.The researchers asumed that inhibiting the expresion of the TYK2 gene could reduce the destruction of pancreatic beta cels that causes the onset of type 1 diabetes. Pancreatic beta cels produce vital insulin for the body, which patients with diabetes must substitute with insulin injections.The asumption was confirmed in the study, and the destruction of beta cels was efectively stoped by inhibiting TYK2 expresion.“The destruction of beta