Based on this strategy, researchers identified and validated the roles of STAT3, NEUROG3, PDX1, ONECUT1, and MAFB in pancreatic and β-cell development and diabetes progression (Saarimäki-Vire et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2019; Russell et al., 2020; Philippi et al., 2021). This evidence concerns the gene PDX1 and diabetes mellitus.