title: Length rather than a specific allele of dinucleotide repeat in the 5' upstream region of the aldose reductase gene is associated with diabetic retinopathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the possible contribution of a genetic factor to diabetic retinopathy.
  
  
  METHODS
  (CA)n repeat length was investigated in the 5' upstream region of the gene coding for aldose reductase (AR), which is a key enzyme of the polyol pathway and plays a role in hyperglycaemia-induced tissue damage, in Japanese patients with Type 2 DM.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The dinucleotide repeat length was significantly associated with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) (P= 0.029, Mann-Whitney U-test); i.e. shorter alleles were more prevalent in the PDR group than in the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  (CA)n repeat length, rather than a specific allele, in the 5' upstream region of the AR gene is associated with diabetic retinopathy. These data suggest that the AR locus plays a role in genetic susceptibility to diabetic retinopathy and that dinucleotide repeats in genomic DNA may be related to disease predisposition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Medicine, Osaka University Medical School, Suita, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujisawa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ikegami
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawaguchi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yamato
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: G Q
authors.initials: GQ
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ogihara
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000449:Aldehyde Reductase / Q000235:genetics*; D000483:Alleles; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000235:genetics*; D018900:Dinucleotide Repeats; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D000449:Aldehyde Reductase