Thus, the presently demonstrated critical role of CFTR in regulating insulin secretion suggests a plausible cause of idiopathic diabetic conditions due to a ‘mild’ non-CF mutation or abnormal CFTR expression/function in general population other than CF, although such a mutation has not been found so far in genome-wide association study analyses in the normal population with diabetes38. Here, CFTR is linked to cystic fibrosis.