Molecular genetics of maturity-onset diabetes of the young

Abstract

To verify the type of diabetes mellitus (DM) remains an extremely important problem in endocrinology, as along with types 1 and 2 DM there are rarer hereditary types of DM, including maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY). The latter is a genetic type of DM, which is characterized by an autosomal dominant inheritance. Eleven types of MODY (MODY 1 to MODY13) are identified; each is associated with mutations in the certain gene: HNF4A, GCK, HNF1A, PDX1, HNF1B, NEUROD1, KLF11, CEL, PAX4, INS, BLK, KCNJ11 and ABCC8. A molecular genetic testing for suspected MODY is conducted to verify the diagnosis and to define a subtype of MODY, patient management tactics, to predict the outcome of the disease and its complications in relation to the found subtype of MODY. It is also important to seek mutation causing MODY in terms of the early detection of MODY in the first-degree relatives of a proband, appropriate therapy of the disease, and prevention of its complications.