Nephropathy in type 1 diabetes is diminished in carriers of HLA-DRB1*04: the genetics of kidneys in diabetes (GoKinD) study.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to examine whether known genetic risk factors for type 1 diabetes (HLA-DRB1, -DQA1, and -DQB1 and insulin locus) play a role in the etiology of diabetic nephropathy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS; Genetic analysis of HLA-DRB1, -DQA1, -DQB1 and the insulin gene (INS) was performed in the Genetics of Kidneys in Diabetes (GoKinD) collection of DNA (European ancestry subset), which includes case patients with type 1 diabetes and nephropathy (n = 829) and control patients with type 1 diabetes but not nephropathy (n = 904). The availability of phenotypic and genotypic data on GoKinD participants allowed a detailed analysis of the association of these genes with diabetic nephropathy.


RESULTS
Diabetic probands who were homozygous for HLA-DRB1*04 were 50% less likely to have nephropathy than probands without any DRB1*04 alleles. In heterozygous carriers, a protective effect of this allele was not as clearly evident; the mode of inheritance therefore remains unclear. This association was seen in probands with both short (<28 years, P = 0.02) and long (>/=28 years, P = 0.0001) duration of diabetes. A1C, a marker of sustained hyperglycemia, was increased in control probands with normoalbuminuira, despite long-duration diabetes, from 7.2 to 7.3 to 7.7% with 0, 1, and 2 copies of the DRB1*04 allele, respectively. This result is consistent with a protective effect of DRB1*04 that may allow individuals to tolerate higher levels of hyperglycemia, as measured by A1C, without developing nephropathy.


CONCLUSIONS
These data suggest that carriers of DRB1*04 are protected from some of the injurious hyperglycemic effects related to nephropathy. Interestingly, DRB1*04 appears to be both a risk allele for type 1 diabetes and a protective allele for nephropathy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, MS F-24, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. snc4@cdc.gov
Suzanne K
SK
Cordovado
Yuan
Y
Zhao
James H
JH
Warram
Hongguang
H
Gong
Karen L
KL
Anderson
Miyono M
MM
Hendrix
Laura N
LN
Hancock
Patricia A
PA
Cleary
Patricia W
PW
Mueller
D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D002170:Canada; D002353:Carrier State / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D003928:Diabetic Nephropathies / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D059848:HLA-DQ alpha-Chains; D059866:HLA-DQ beta-Chains; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000235:genetics; D007668:Kidney / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States
D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens; D059848:HLA-DQ alpha-Chains; D059866:HLA-DQ beta-Chains; C069050:HLA-DQA1 antigen; C069051:HLA-DQB1 antigen; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains; C527195:HLA-DRB1*04 antigen; D007328:Insulin