Probing the source of diabetes

Edited by the Laboratorytalk editorial team Apr 19, 2002

Newly developed gene probes increase efficiency and speed of research in studies of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes, detecting the presence of alleles by hybridisation reaction

PerkinElmer Life Sciences has announced the introduction of a full set of gene probes for use in genetic typing of type 1 diabetes.

Based on its Delfia technology, these probes provide an effective method for significantly increasing daily sample throughput, enabling quicker, more effective research.

They are capable of handling large sample volume throughput, and are less technically demanding than traditional solutions.

Type 1 or juvenile diabetes results from an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's insulin-producing pancreatic cells, reducing and ultimately stopping all insulin production.

The cost of care for a type 1 diabetes patient is a burden to both the patient and society.

Although there is still no cure for juvenile diabetes, early detection can prevent or at least reduce rates of long-term complications, both improving the quality of life and reducing the costs that result from repeated hospitalisations.

The probes specific for HLA-DQB1, -DQA1 and -DRB1 alleles are currently used exclusively for research to discover the genes involved in conferring a genetic risk of or protection from developing type 1 diabetes.

Once the DNA in a blood sample is amplified, the presence of particular alleles relating to type 1 diabetes can be determined by a hybridisation reaction using allele-specific, short oligonucleotides labelled with lanthanide chelates.

"PerkinElmer Life Sciences's development of high-performance probes specifically for diabetes-related genes represents a significant industry advancement," said Ann-Christine Sundell, vice president and general manager, genetic screening, PerkinElmer Life Sciences.

"We are already close to being able to predict this disease, and the possession of information on risk and protective alleles will be extremely valuable to the vast body of researchers who are working toward finding a cure.

PerkinElmer Life Sciences is in the advanced stages of developing a suite of solutions for clinical screening for type 1 diabetes ranging from HLA-typing probes and autoantibody kits to sophisticated software for data management and risk analysis.