A variant of a gene was identified by an international team led by researchers at IIT-Madras. This gene variant increased the risk of diabetes, hypertension and coronary heart disease in Indians and other south Asians by 1.5 times.

15% of 4,300 people included in the study had a gene variation due to mutation of the gene chromogranin A which made them susceptible to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Researchers said that the identification of the genetic risk factor, which manifests soon after birth, could help to prevent the onset of disease by modifying lifestyle.

It was also found that those with the disease carried pancreastatin peptides with amino acid changed from glycine to serine due to the mutation. Pancreastatin is a peptide that interacts with receptors of insulin and regulates metabolism. Nitish Mahapatra, professor in the department of biotechnology, IIT-M said that the function of serine was very different from glycine and for a normal body function, such a super active version of the peptide was not required, it was the cause of the metabolic disorder. He said that it was clear that those who had the disease were having a variant, like a mutation, like one nucleotide, which was the building blocks of gene sequences, changed to another nucleotide.

The results of the study have been published online in the peer-reviewed Diabetes, the flagship journal of the American Diabetes Association.

Source: ET Healthworld