BOSTON - Using the newest DNA chip technology, scientists at
Joslin Diabetes Center have discovered a new gene implicated in
the cause of type 2 diabetes. In a new study appearing in the
August 12 issue of the journal Cell, the investigators first
identified genes that were altered in their level of expression
in islets isolated from people with type 2 diabetes. The
researchers then went on to show that when they created a defect
in one of these genes called ARNT in mice, the mice developed
alterations in insulin secretion that were like those in humans
with type 2 diabetes. The ARNT (aryl hydrocarbon receptor
nuclear translocator) gene is a member of a family of
transcription factors essential for normal embryonic development
and also is involved in response to conditions of hypoxia and
certain environmental toxins, such as dioxin. Transcription
factors like ARNT control the expression and activity of many
other genes in the cell and thus serve as master regulators of
cell function. As a component of the res