HNFs--Linking the Liver and Pancreatic Islets in Diabetes

Understanding the transcriptional regulatory networks that operate in different tissues may provide some mechanistic insight into certain diseases. In their Perspective, [Kulkarni and Kahn][1] discuss new work ([ Odom et al .][2]) that identifies transcriptional regulatory networks in human liver cells and isletcells, and highlights a defect in one transcription factor in this circuitry that may contribute to late-onset type 2 diabetes. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/303/5662/1311 [2]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/303/5662/1378