Rarity of TLR4 Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile polymorphisms in the Korean population.
OBJECTIVE
Activation of the innate immune system and chronic low-grade inflammation are thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and also thought to be associated with type 2 diabetes and its complications. As a receptor for bacterial lipopolysaccharide and heat-shock proteins, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is one of the central regulators of the immune response. Recent studies have reported an association between TLR4 polymorphisms and diabetes and its complications in Caucasian populations.


METHODS
In this study, we analyzed the association between TLR4 gene polymorphisms in patients with features of type 2 diabetes and healthy controls in Korea. Two polymorphisms of the TLR4 gene (Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile) were examined in 225 diabetic patients and 153 healthy controls using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP).


RESULTS
No Asp299Gly or Thr399Ile mutations were detected in any of the 378 subjects. Seven subjects from each group who had slightly different SSCP patterns were selected for sequencing, but we found no TLR4 polymorphisms on Exon3. The Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile TLR4 gene polymorphisms were absent in both groups, which was similar to the results for Japanese and Chinese Han subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data and other Asian data suggest that a racial difference can be found in the frequency of the TLR4 polymorphism.
Kim
Yeun Sun
YS
Department of Endocrinology, Gachon University of Medicine and Science, Gil Medical Center, 1198 Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon 405-760, Korea.
Hwang
You Jin
YJ
Kim
Sung Yong
SY
Yang
Sun Mee
SM
Lee
Ki Young
KY
Park
Ie Byung
IeB
D000328:Adult; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4 / Q000235:genetics*
D000596:Amino Acids; C495345:TLR4 protein, human; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4