HHEX and type 2 diabetes mellitus: Interestingly, Hhex may function in the pancreas via a similar fashion to that which was observed in HSCs and leukaemia, by directly repressing Cdkn2a, as a consistent SNP in the Cdkn2a gene (rs10811661) is often concurrent with SNPs within the Hhex gene as well-established risk factors in the development of T2D (Supplementary Table 1).