Researchers from CUHK and Sanford Burnham Prebys have developed a computational approach to predict whether a person with type 2 diabetes will develop kidney disease. Their results, published in Nature Communications, could help doctors prevent or better manage kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes.

The new algorithm depends on measurements of a process called DNA methylation, which occurs when subtle changes accumulate in our DNA. DNA methylation can encode important information about which genes are being turned on and off, and it can be easily measured through blood tests.

The computational model can use methylation markers from a blood sample to predict both current kidney function and how the kidneys will function years in the future, which means it could be easily implemented alongside current methods for evaluating a patient’s risk of kidney disease.

The researchers developed their model using detailed data from more than 1,200 patients with type 2 diabetes in the Hong Kong Diabetes Register. They also tested their model on a separate group of 326 native Americans with type 2 diabetes, which helped ensure that their approach could predict kidney disease in different populations. 

The study was supported by grants from The Hong Kong Research Grants Council Theme-based Research Scheme and Research Impact Fund, with additional support from the Research Grants Council, National Institutes of Health, the Croucher Foundation and CUHK. The project team have already filed a patent related to their invention.

The study’s DOI can be read here.