Monogenic diabetes in Iran

The prevalence of diabetes and obesity is high in Iran but family history and clinical criteria used in Europe may not be useful in diagnosis. Correct diagnosis is important because monogenic forms can often be treated with oral agents rather than insulin. The rate of consanguinity is high and identification of new recessive mutations/genes is easier in consanguineous families.

The aim of this seed project is to establish a collaboration with hospital-based researchers in Iran to understand monogenic diabetes in this Middle Eastern country. Identifying recessive mutations will inform us about the underlying mechanism and diagnostic tests for monogenic diabetes. This will be the first study of the genetics of monogenic diabetes in Iran using next generation sequencing and whole-exome sequencing. I will set up cohorts of monogenic diabetes and use advances in DNA sequencing to assess the role of known and novel genes in the pathogenesis of monogenic diabetes. I will use known genetic variants and non-genetic biomarkers to help classify young patients into type 1 diabetes or likely monogenic diabetes.