title: Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms influence susceptibility to type 1 diabetes mellitus in the Taiwanese population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Vitamin D and its receptor have been suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes mellitus. We have therefore studied the influence of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms on susceptibility to type 1 diabetes, and rates of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) autoantibody and islet cell autoantibody (ICA512) positivity.
  
  
  METHODS
  AND MEASUREMENTS One hundred and fifty-seven type 1 diabetic patients and 248 unrelated normal controls were recruited for this study. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leucocytes. All type 1 diabetic patients and controls were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), for three restriction sites in the VDR gene, BsmI, ApaI and TaqI. The chi2 test was used to compare the frequency of the VDR gene polymorphisms in patients and normal controls. The association of VDR gene polymorphisms in type 1 diabetes with the presence of GAD65 and ICA512 autoantibodies were also examined using the chi2 test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The allele frequency of the BsmI and ApaI polymorphisms, but not TaqI polymorphism, differed between patients and controls (BsmI P = 0.015; ApaI P = 0.018; TaqI P = 0.266). However, after correction for the three different polymorphisms tested, only the BsmI was significant (pc = 0.045).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms were associated with type 1 diabetes in a Taiwanese population. However, functional studies are needed to establish the role of the vitamin D receptor in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes mellitus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, En Chu Kong Hospital, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: T Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Chuang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000483:Alleles; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol / Q000235:genetics*; D013624:Taiwan
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase