Using Mendelian randomization, Roman Pfister of the University of Cambridge, UK and colleagues demonstrate a potentially causal link between low levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), a hormone released by damaged heart tissue, and the development of type 2 diabetes. The findings, published in this week’s PLoS Medicine, suggest that BNP may be a potential target for interventions designed to prevent type 2 diabetes, particularly since the feasibility of altering BNP levels with drugs has already been proposed. The results have yet to be confirmed in patients of non-European descent.

###

Funding: Cambridgeshire, Ely, ADDITION, EPIC-Norfolk, and the Norfolk Diabetes studies were funded by the MRC with support from NHS Research & Development and the Wellcome Trust. RP received grants from Koeln Fortune and Marga- und Walter-Boll Stiftung. IB acknowledges funding from Wellcome Trust grant 077016/Z/05/Z and United Kingdom NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre and the MRC Centre for Obesity and Related Metabolic Diseases. PW is supported by BHF fellowship grant FS/10/005/28147. NT-pro-BNP determination in FINRISK97 was done as a part of the MORGAM Biomarker Study funded in part by the Medical Research Council London (G0601463, identification no. 80983) and Roche Diagnostics provided test reagents. VS was supported by the Academy of Finland, grant no 129494. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests: VS has received a speaker honorarium from Roche Diagnostics. IB and her spouse own stock in the companies GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Incyte (INCY). All other authors declare that no competing interests exist.

Citation: Pfister R, Sharp S, Luben R, Welsh P, Barroso I, et al. (2011) Mendelian Randomization Study of B-Type Natriuretic Peptide and Type 2 Diabetes: Evidence of Causal Association from Prospective Case-Control Studies. PLoS Med 9(10): e1001112. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001112

CONTACT:

Roman Pfister
Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit
Institute of Metabolic Science
University of Cambridge
Cambridge
United Kingdom
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

###

Clare Weaver
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
44-122-344-2834
Public Library of Science