糖尿病是严重危害我国人类生命与健康的一种代谢性疾病。目前，我国糖尿病的构成以2型糖尿病为主，占糖尿病人群的90％以上。2型糖尿病的病因非常复杂，涉及到各种遗传因素和环境因素以及它们间的相互作用。由于2型糖尿病的危害性和复杂性，我们需要重点开展2型糖尿病发生发展机理的研究，从而才有可能获得更为有效的防治措施。
本项目重点围绕2型糖尿病发生与发展过程中的遗传因素和环境因素及其二者间的相互作用，以系统生物学和转化型研究为基本研究策略，针对人群样本、动物模型和细胞等不同研究对象，主要开展2型糖尿病发生发展的自然病程中调控糖稳态的分子变化规律并进行分子分期的研究。
本项目拟开展以下研究工作：（1）中国人2型糖尿病发生过程中遗传因素的发现及其作用机制；（2）细胞应激在中国人2型糖尿病发生过程中的作用机制及其营养干预的代谢组学；（3）代谢性核受体在胰岛素抵抗和2型糖尿病发病中的作用机制；（4）细胞信号转导分子、脂代谢紊乱与胰岛素抵抗的关系；（5）2型糖尿病发展过程与血管病变；（6）胰岛素分泌异常、细胞凋亡与2型糖尿病；（7）2型糖尿病发生过程中的分子网络与作用机制。本项目针对这些研究内容设置了10个课题。
本项目拟在2型糖尿病研究的六个方面寻求重大突破：（1）中国人群2型糖尿病发生的遗传特性的揭示；（2）中国人群2型糖尿病发生的早期干预方法的建立和干预机制的分析；（3）中国人群2型糖尿病发生与发展中的蛋白质或代谢分子标记物的获得；（4）胰岛素抵抗的新机制的发现；（5）2型糖尿病进程中血管病变的新机制的发现。（6）2型糖尿病自然病程分子分期理论的提出及与自然病程相关的分子变化规律的阐明。

Diabetes is one kind of serious metabolic diseases. People having type 2 diabetes is above 90 percent of the total diabetes-population , which is the most common form of diabetes in China. The causes of type 2 diabetes are very complicated, involving hereditic factors, environment factors and their interactions.
The project focuses on the studying the hereditic and environments factors, and their interactions in progression of type 2 diabetes. Systems biology and translational research are the basic research strategies used in the project, and clinical samples, animal models and cells are the main objects for the study. Molecular mechanisms that control of glucose homeostasis and molecular markers in type 2 diabetes natural progression will be on the main targets of this project.
The following research areas will be involved in the project: (1) mechanism of hereditic factors and its function in Chinese type 2 diabetes ; (2) metabolomics on the cell stress and its nutrition intervention  in the type 2 diabetes; (3) mechanisms of metabolic nuclear receptors in the process of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes onset; (4) roles of signal transduction molecules, lipid metabolic disorder to insulin resistance; (5) type 2 diabetes development and role of pathological changes of blood vessels; (6) abnormal insulin secretion, apoptosis and type 2 diabetes; (7) function of molecular network of type 2 diabetes progression. Ten research subgroups are established according to these works.
This project is expected to obtain 6 great breakthroughs in the research of type 2 diabetes: (1) revelation of genetic characters of type 2 diabetes progression in Chinese; (2) founding means of early intervention and analyzing the intervention mechanisms; (3) obtaining protein or metabolic molecular biomarkers in the onset and development of type 2 diabetes in Chinese; (4) finding novel mechanisms of insulin resistance; (5) showing the mechanisms of pathological changes of blood vessels in type 2 diabetes development; (6) presenting a theory of molecular stages of type 2 diabetes and elucidating molecular changes in the natural course of type 2 diabetes.