Genetic Polymorphism and Risk of having Type 2 Diabetes in a Palestinian Population: A Study of 16 Gene Polymorphisms

Background: Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is a multifactorial disease that encompasses environmental risk factors and the contribution of multiple genomic variants. Studies on the genetic components of T2D revealed many T2D-associated genetic polymorphisms in various populations. Lack of studies on the relation between gene polymorphism and T2D in Palestinians prompted us to examine the association between 16 known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and T2D in this unexplored population. Method: In this case-control study, 100 T2D male patients and 100 control men were examined. The two groups were genotyped for the 16 genes polymorphisms using PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique. Body Mass Index (BMI), and essential clinical parameters were measured for all the study participants. The relation between the 16 SNPs and T2D were statistically analyzed using appropriate tests. Results: Significant association was evident between IGF2BP and T2D, followed by CDKN2A/B (rs10811661) (OR=2.35, P-value=0.003), COL8A1 (rs792837) (OR=2.03, P-value=0.015), KCNQ1 (rs2237892) (OR=0.184, P-value=0.017), and KCNJ11 (rs5219; E23K) (OR=1.81, P-value=0.04), based on Armitage trend test. Among the 16 tested polymorphisms, a highly statistically significant association was evident between IGF2BP2 (rs4402960) and T2D [Odds ratio (OR)=3.28, P-value=7.46x10-8]. Conclusion: IGF2BP, CDKN2A/B, COL8A1, KCNQ1, and KCNJ11 gene variants are associated with T2D in the investigated population. This preliminary study sheds some light on the genetic components of T2Din Palestine.