Association of Kir6.2 and Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor-gamma (PPARγ) Polymorphisms with Type 2 Diabetes in Koreans

BACKGROUND The type 2 diabetes is a typical polygenic disease complex, for which several common risk alleles have been identified. Several variants may contribute significantly to the risk of type 2 diabetes conferring insulin resistance of liver, muscle and fat (Pro12Ala) and a relative insulin secretory deficiency (Glu23Lys). In this study, we evaluated the association of Pro12Ala variant of the peroxisome proliferator- activated receptor-gamma and the Glu23Lys variant of the ATP-sensitive potassium channel, Kir6.2 (KCNJ11) with the type 2 diabetes in Korean population. METHOD: This study included 331 subjects consisting of 172 patients with type 2 diabetes and 159 non- diabetic control subjects enrolled from the Kyungpook, Keimyung and Catholic university hospital in Daegu, Korea. We genotyped Kir6.2 (Glu23Lys) and PPARgamma (Pro12Ala) polymorphism and examined their association with the type 2 diabetes. RESULT: In the separate analyses, the Kir6.2 Glu23Lys (P = 0.385) and the PPARgamma Pro12Ala (P = 0.191) polymorphism showed no significant association with type 2 diabetes. In addition, the results of our study showed no evidence of a synergistic interaction between Kir6.2 and PPARgamma gene in each group (P = 0.110, P = 0.276). CONCLUSION: In this study, no association was seen between the genetic polymorphisms of Kir6.2, PPARgamma and type 2 diabetes. However, to clarify whether genetic polymorphisms of these genes contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes, further studies involving larger Korean populations may be needed.