New risk factor for Type 1 Diabetes identified
Study of diabetes patients in Sweden yields important information on possible cause of disease

Seattle, Wednesday, October 11, 2006 – The Institute for Systems Biology (ISB), an internationally renowned non-profit research institute in Seattle dedicated to the study and application of systems biology, announced a new breakthrough in the study of risk factors associated with Type 1 Diabetes. Researchers have identified a gene, ITPR3, associated with the disease. ITPR3 regulates calcium flow within cells. An article about this study will appear in the October issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.

The article provides further insight into the causes of Type 1 Diabetes, which can include the environment and genetic factors, among other things. This study compared the variants of the ITPR3 gene present in people with Type 1 Diabetes to people without. Researchers found that one particular variant of ITPR3 is more common in people with Type 1 Diabetes, which may point to ITPR3 as a cause of Type 1 Diabetes.

"Scientists having been working to understand the genetics of Type 1 Diabetes for thirty years. We have long known that the HLA class II genes play an important role in risk for Type 1 Diabetes, but other involved genes have remained elusive," said Jared Roach, senior research scientist at the Institute for Systems Biology, "This study begins to examine one of those involved genes."

The team, co-directed by Dr. Marta Janer, analyzed genetic data from patients who had participated in the Swedish Childhood Diabetes Study and the Diabetes Incidence in Sweden Study, both based in Sweden and represented by Dr. Åke Lernmark of the University of Washington. ITPR3 has been studied for years in the nervous system but has never been thought to cause diabetes. A number of studies have found that ITPR3 is abundant in pancreatic islets, which are the parts of the pancreas that contain the beta cells, indicating this protein may be important to the function of beta cells and that a defect may make beta cells more susceptible to an autoimmune attack.

At least in Sweden, ITPR3 may account for a significant portion of the previously unknown genetic risk for Type 1 Diabetes. Preliminary estimates suggest that ITPR3 may be responsible for approximately 20 percent of the cases of Type 1 Diabetes in Sweden.

This is the first study to be published describing the association of ITPR3 and Type 1 Diabetes. While results are preliminary, scientists are optimistic this study will add to the growing knowledge of the causes of diabetes.

Jared Roach, M.D., Ph.D., co-principal investigator on this study, is a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Systems Biology.

Marta Janer, Ph.D., co-principal investigator on this study, is a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Systems Biology.

About the Institute for Systems Biology:
The Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) is an internationally renowned, non-profit research institute dedicated to the study and application of systems biology. ISB seeks to unravel the mysteries of human biology and identify strategies for predicting and preventing diseases such as cancer, diabetes and AIDS. The driving force behind the innovative "systems" approach is the integration of biology, computation and technology. This approach allows scientists to analyze all of the elements in a system rather than one gene or protein at a time. Located in Seattle, Washington, the Institute has grown to 11 faculty and more than 170 staff members; an annual budget of more than $25 million; and an extensive network of academic and industrial partners. For more information about the ISB visit: www.systemsbiology.org