Nerdy Science Blog

Scientists from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, USA, identified a gene, hexokinase-1, that is linked to blood concentration variation of glycated hemoglobin.  Glycated hemoglobin has been used as index of long-term blood glucose concentration in the follow-up of type 2 diabetes patients.  This study involved 14,618 Caucasian women from the Women’s Genome Health Study.  Scientists analyzed their glycated hemoglobin concent日ation and study their genetic variation.  Hexokinase-1 gene which encodes the enzyme hexokinase, involved in early glucose utilization, is found to link to the blood glucose concentration variation.  However the full metabolic role of the genetic variants has not been understood and will be studied further.  The study, led by Guillaume Paré, is published in the December 19 journal, PLoS Genetics.

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