NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Lund University said last week that it has partnered with the Regeneron Genetics Center (RGC) and the University of Helsinki on a study to investigate the genetics of diabetes.
In the so-called Botnia study, the RCG — a subsidiary of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals — will perform exome sequencing and whole-genome array genotyping of more than 9,000 individuals with diabetes or with diabetic relatives from around 1,400 families in Finland and southern Sweden.
Researchers from the RCG, Lund University, and the University of Helsinki will analyze the data in order to identify genetic mutations linked to different conditions associated with diabetes such as insulin sensitivity.
"By studying hereditarily transmitted mutations in families, we can understand which causes are genetic and which are environmental, i.e. due to lifestyle," Leif Groop, head of the Lund University Diabetes Centre, said in a statement.
"If we can understand the cause, we can study the molecular mechanism behind the disease, which would enable the development of new drugs to treat it," Nikolay Oskolkov, a researcher at the center, added.