Polymorphisms of the reg1α gene and early onset type 2 diabetes in the korean population.
BACKGROUND
The Reg gene has been reported to be expressed in regenerating islets and Reg1 protein to be up-regulated at an early stage of diabetes in mice. As human Reg1α is homologous with murine Reg1, we investigated whether common variants in Reg1α are associated with type 2 diabetes in the Korean population.


METHODS
We sequenced the Reg1α gene to identify common polymorphisms using 24 Korean DNA samples. Of 11 polymorphisms found, five common ones (g.-385T>C [rs10165462], g.-36T>G [rs25689789], g.209G>T [rs2070707], g.1385C>G [novel], and g.2199G>A [novel]) were genotyped in 752 type 2 diabetic patients and 642 non-diabetic subjects.


RESULTS
No polymorphism was associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, g.-385C and g.2199A lowered the risk of early-onset type 2 diabetes, defined as a diagnosis in subjects whose age at diagnosis was 25 years or more but less than 40 years (odds ratio [OR], 0.721 [0.535 to 0.971] and 0.731 [0.546 to 0.977] for g.-385C and g.2199A, respectively) and g.1385G increased the risk of early-onset diabetes (OR, 1.398 [1.055 to 1.854]). Although adjusting for errors in multiple hypotheses-testing showed no statistically significant association between the three individual polymorphisms and early-onset diabetes, the haplotype H1, composed of g.-385C, g.1385C, and g.2199A, was associated with a reduced risk of early-onset diabetes (OR, 0.590 [0.396 to 0.877], P = 0.009).


CONCLUSIONS
Polymorphisms in the Reg1α were not found to be associated with overall susceptibility to type 2 diabetes, though some showed modest associations with early-onset type 2 diabetes in the Korean population.
Koo
Bo Kyung
BK
Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Cho
Young Min
YM
Kimm
Kuchan
K
Lee
Jong-Young
JY
Oh
Bermseok
B
Park
Byung Lae
BL
Cheong
Hyun Sub
HS
Shin
Hyoung Doo
HD
Ko
Kyung Soo
KS
Park
Sang Gyu
SG
Lee
Hong Kyu
HK
Park
Kyong Soo
KS