Recent Developments in the Genetic and Genomic Basis of Type 2 Diabetes

Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have transformed the study of heritable factors influencing complex diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D), with the current tally of established risk loci approaching 70. Each of these loci has the potential to offer novel insights into the biology of this disease, and opportunities for clinical exploitation. However, the complexity of this condition has often frustrated efforts to achieve these functional and translational advances. This review describes progress made over the past year to expand genome wide association studies, to characterize the mechanisms through which diabetes risk loci operate, and to define the processes involved in diabetes predisposition. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York.