Genome-wide Association Studies of Diabetic Kidney Disease in East Asians With Type 2 Diabetes: Achievements and Future Perspectives

Diabetic kidney disease is a devastating diabetic complication, affecting up tohalf of people suffering from diabetes. The global burden of diabetic kidney disease issteadily increasing worldwide along with the growing prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Theepidemic rise of type 2 diabetes is primarily observed in Asia, including the East Asianregions. It is generally accepted that heredity is one of the main determinants in thepathogenesis of diabetic kidney disease. Since the advent of genome-wide associationstudies, numerous studies have been published to identify the genetic loci susceptible todiabetic kidney disease among diverse populations. Although genome-wide associationstudies exploring diabetic kidney disease susceptibility loci have focused primarily onpopulations of European descent, a number of novel genetic variants associated with diabetickidney disease have also been successfully revealed among East Asians. A comprehensiveanalysis of the genetic architecture and pathophysiological pathways of diabetickidney disease may allow the identification of new potential therapeutic targets. This reviewaimed to summarize genome-wide association studies examining genetic variantsassociated with diabetic kidney disease in the populations of East Asian ancestry withtype 2 diabetes and presented our perspective on the future of this field.