Abstract
Thousands of genes are currently being discovered by sequencing the human genome. Of these, hundreds if not thousands fall into regions of the genome identified by genetic studies as linked to the development of type 1 diabetes. Inheritance patterns for these regions suggest that diabetes results from the combinatorial interaction of susceptibility loci. The study of such complex events will require technologies that can simultaneously evaluate expression profiles and allelic differences for all these genes in order to dissect the mechanisms responsible for the development of disease. We will argue that DNA microarrays are the natural vehicle for the exploration of diabetes-related gene clusters, and the application of these arrays to understanding diabetes is discussed.
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