Abstract

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is a chronic multifactorial disease with a strong genetic component, which, through interactions with specific environmental factors, triggers disease onset. T1D typically manifests in early to mid childhood through the autoimmune destruction of pancreatic β cells resulting in a lack of insulin production. Historically, prior to genome-wide association studies (GWAS), six loci in the genome were fully established to be associated with T1D. With the advent of high-throughput single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping array technologies, enabling investigators to perform high-density GWAS, many additional T1D susceptibility genes have been discovered. Indeed, recent meta-analyses of multiple datasets from independent investigators have brought the tally of well-validated T1D disease genes to almost 60. In this mini-review, we address recent advances in the genetics of T1D and provide an update on the latest susceptibility loci added to the list of genes involved in the pathogenesis of T1D. View Full-Text