Moreover, protein-protein interaction analysis provided further evidence for common mechanisms shared between Europeans and East Asians by revealing gene-gene interactions underlying the comorbidity of T2D and PAD, specifically the interactions between STARD10 (European-specific) and AP3S2 (East Asian-specific) and between KCNJ11 (European-specific) and KCNQ1 (East Asian-specific). Here, KCNJ11 is linked to type 2 diabetes mellitus.