Excess of rare noncoding variants in several type 2 diabetes candidate genes among Asian Indian families

Bibliographic Details
Title: Excess of rare noncoding variants in several type 2 diabetes candidate genes among Asian Indian families
Authors: Madhusmita Rout, Deepika Ramu, Mendez Mariana, Teena Koshy, Vettriselvi Venkatesan, Juan C. Lopez-Alvarenga, Rector Arya, Umarani Ravichandran, Surendra K. Sharma, Sailesh Lodha, Amaresh Reddy Ponnala, Krishna Kumar Sharma, Mahaboob Vali Shaik, Roy G. Resendez, Priyanka Venugopal, Parthasarathy R, Noelta S, Juliet A. Ezeilo, Marcio Almeida, Juan Paralta, Srinivas Mummidi, Chidambaram Natesan, Narinder K. Mehra, Jai Rup Singh, Gurpreet S. Wander, Sarju Ralhan, Piers R. Blackett, John Blangero, Krishna M. Medicherla, Sadagopan Thanikachalam, Thyagarajan Sadras Panchatcharam, Dileep Kumar K, Rajeev Gupta, Solomon Franklin D. Paul, Asish K. Ghosh, Christopher E. Aston, Ravindranath Duggirala, Dharambir K. Sanghera
Source: Communications Medicine, Vol 5, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2025)
Publisher Information: Nature Portfolio, 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Collection: LCC:Medicine
Subject Terms: Medicine
More Details: Abstract Background Type 2 diabetes (T2D) etiology is highly complex due to its multiple roots of origin. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) based on genome-wide association studies (GWAS) can partially explain T2D risk. Asian Indian people have up to six times higher risk of developing T2D than European people, and underlying causes of this disparity are unknown. Methods We have performed targeted sequencing of ten T2D GWAS/candidate regions using endogamous Punjabi Sikh families and replication studies using unrelated Sikh people and families from three other Indian endogamous ethnic groups (EEGs). Results We detect rare and ultra-rare variants (RVs) in KCNJ11-ABCC8 and HNF4A (MODY genes) cosegregated with late-onset T2D. We also identify RV enrichment in two new genes, SLC38A11 and ANPEP, associated with T2D. Gene-burden analysis reveals the highest RV burden contributed by HNF4A (p = 0.0003), followed by KCNJ11/ABCC8 (p = 0.0061) and SLC38A11 (p = 0.03). Some RVs detected in Sikh people are also found in Agarwals from Jaipur, both from Northern India, but were monomorphic in other two EEGs from South Indian people. Despite carrying a high burden of T2D and RVs, most families have a significantly lower burden of PRS. Functional studies show that an intronic regulatory variant (RV) in ABCC8 affects the binding of Pax4 and NF-kB transcription factors, influencing downstream gene regulation. Conclusions The high burden of T2D in these families may stem from the enrichment of noncoding RVs in a small number of major known genes (including MODY genes) with oligogenic inheritance alongside RVs from genes associated with polygenic susceptibility. These findings highlight the need to conduct deeper evaluations of families from non-European ancestries to identify potential novel therapeutics and implement preventative strategies.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2730-664X
Relation: https://doaj.org/toc/2730-664X
DOI: 10.1038/s43856-025-00750-9
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/0929f72b24d54f4292dbaa458ebe3389
Accession Number: edsdoj.0929f72b24d54f4292dbaa458ebe3389
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:2730664X
DOI:10.1038/s43856-025-00750-9
Published in:Communications Medicine
Language:English