Abstract: Type 2 diabetes mellitus results from a combination of genetic and lifestyle factors, and the prevalence of T2DM is increasing worldwide. At present, there are many drawbacks in the clinical treatment of T2DM, so there is an urgent need for a new treatment method for improvement. In recent years, gene therapy has been proved to reverse T2DM related symptoms such as insulin resistance at the animal level, and no obvious side effects such as hypoglycemia have been found. Therefore, gene therapy may be the main development direction of T2DM therapy in the future. This article reviews the role of fibroblast growth factor related genes such as fibroblast growth factor 21, glucagon like peptide-1, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor and insulin in glucose and lipid metabolism and the development of T2DM, and summarized the application of various viral vectors in gene therapy of T2DM. The significance and existing problems of gene therapy in T2DM are discussed, and the possible development direction of gene therapy T2DM in the future is prospected.

Key words: type 2 diabetes mellitus, gene therapy, virus vector, FGF21, GLP-1