Identification of 28 new susceptibility loci for type 2 diabetes in the Japanese population

To understand the genetics of type 2 diabetes in people of Japanese ancestry, we conducted A meta-analysis of four genome-wide association studies (GWAS; 36,614 cases and 155,150 controls of Japanese ancestry). We identified 88 type 2 diabetes–associated loci ( P 0.05 versus MAF EUR < 0.01), including missense variants in genes related to pancreatic acinar cells ( GP2 ) and insulin secretion ( GLP1R ). Transethnic comparisons of the molecular pathways identified from the GWAS results highlight both ethnically shared and heterogeneous effects of a series of pathways on type 2 diabetes (for example, monogenic diabetes and beta cells). Genome-wide association analyses identify 28 new susceptibility loci for type 2 diabetes in the Japanese population. Transethnic comparisons highlight the key role of beta cell dysfunction in type 2 diabetes across different ancestry groups.