A gene called SIRT1 is associated with age-related diseases and longevity in some model systems, but it seems that a mutation in this gene may also cause type 1 diabetes.

This form of diabetes is a result of the immune system destroying insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas. Marc Donath at the University Hospital Basel in Switzerland and his colleagues sequenced targeted regions of the genomes of a family in which four members have type 1 diabetes and another has ulcerative colitis, also an autoimmune disorder. The researchers found the SIRT1 mutation only in family members with autoimmune diseases. Lab-grown cells that expressed the mutant gene boosted their production of the immune system components nitric oxide, chemokines and cytokines — all known to have a role in the development of diabetes.

Cell Metab. 17, 448–455 (2013)