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Identifying genes and proteins with causal effects on type 2 diabetes risk across tissues and populations

Using tissue- and ancestry-aware causal inference analyses, we identified 923 genes and 46 proteins whose expression levels causally influence type 2 diabetes risk. Tissue-related heterogeneity was high, whereas ancestry-related heterogeneity was low, although some effects were observed only in non-European populations. These results underscore the need to investigate disease-relevant tissues and diverse populations.

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Fig. 1: Identification of genes and proteins with a causal effect on T2D risk.

References

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This is a summary of: Bocher, O. et al. Unravelling the molecular mechanisms causal to type 2 diabetes across global populations and disease-relevant tissues. Nat. Metab. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-025-01444-1 (2026).

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Identifying genes and proteins with causal effects on type 2 diabetes risk across tissues and populations. Nat Metab (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-025-01447-y

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