The Significance of Genetic Factors in Diabetic Kidkdey Diseases

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus led to a growing number of chronic complications including diabetic nephropathy (DKD). In addition to its high prevalence, DKD is associated with high morbidity and mortality especially due to cardiovascular diseases. It is well established that genetic factors play a role in the pathogenesis of DKD and genetically susceptible individuals can develop it after being exposed to environmental factors. DKD is probably a complex, polygenic disease. Two main strategies have been used to identify genes associated to DKD: analysis of candidate genes, and more recently genome-wide scan. Great efforts have been made to identify these main genes, but results are still inconsistent with different genes associated to a small effect in specific populations. The identification of the main genes would allow the detection of those individuals at high risk for DKD and better understanding of its pathophysiology as well.