Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Generation of High Quality Chromatin Immunoprecipitation DNA Template for High-throughput Sequencing (ChIP-seq)
Published on: April 19, 2013
The genetics of type 2 diabetes: what have we learned from GWAS?
Liana K Billings1, Jose C Florez
1Center for Human Genetic Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Abstract:
Type 2 diabetes mellitus has been at the forefront of human diseases and phenotypes studied by new genetic analyses. Thanks to genome-wide association studies, we have made substantial progress in elucidating the genetic basis of type 2 diabetes. This review summarizes the concept, history, and recent discoveries produced by genome-wide association studies for type 2 diabetes and glycemic traits, with a focus on the key notions we have gleaned from these efforts. Genome-wide association findings have illustrated novel pathways, pointed toward fundamental biology, confirmed prior epidemiological observations, drawn attention to the role of β-cell dysfunction in type 2 diabetes, explained ~10% of disease heritability, tempered our expectations with regard to their use in clinical prediction, and provided possible targets for pharmacotherapy and pharmacogenetic clinical trials. We can apply these lessons to future investigation so as to improve our understanding of the genetic basis of type 2 diabetes.
Related Concept Videos
Genome-wide Association Studies-GWAS
GWAS does not require the identification of the target gene involved in...
Type II Diabetes I: Introduction
Diabetes Mellitus: Type 2 and Gestational
Type II Diabetes II: Pathophysiology
Type I Diabetes II: Pathophysiology
Carbohydrate Metabolism
Starch accounts for approximately 60% of the carbohydrates consumed by humans. Since amylase enzymes cannot function in the stomach's acidic environment, starch can only be digested in the mouth and small intestine. Simple sugars are found naturally in milk and fruits in the...
