Brief reportTranscription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene polymorphism rs7903146 is associated with stroke in type 2 diabetes patients with long disease duration
Introduction
Common variants in transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene are strongly associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) in all of the main ethnic groups [1]. Among the candidate variants within the TCF7L2 gene, SNP rs7903146 in intron 3 has been postulated to be associated with a greater risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D), coronary artery disease [3], [4], nephropathy [5], retinopathy [6] and neuropathy [7].
For these reasons, the aim of the present study was to investigate the association of the rs7903146 SNP in the TCF7L2 gene with diabetic complications and its related phenotypes.
Section snippets
Subjects
A total of 810 unrelated T2D Korean patients from the Endocrinology clinic of Chungbuk National University Hospital were studied. Diabetes was diagnosed according to WHO criteria [8]. Patients with age at diagnosis of ≥30 years and known duration of ≥5 years were included. All patients underwent a thorough medical history and biochemical tests. Diabetic retinopathy was assessed by trained ophthalmologists and classified by International Clinical Retinopathy Severity Scale: (1) no apparent
Results
The baseline characteristics of the 810 studied subjects are shown in Table 1. The TCF7L2 SNP rs7903146 was rare among Korean diabetic subjects. There were 64 (7.8%) heterozygotes and 2 (0.2%) variant homozygotes. No significant difference in anthropometric and biochemical parameters was observed between TCF7L2 SNP rs7903146 genotype groups.
When all subjects were analyzed, the prevalence of diabetic complications was not significantly different between subjects without the TCF7L2 variant T (CC
Discussion
In the present study, we demonstrated for the first time that the rs7903146 SNP in TCF7L2 was associated with risk of stroke among diabetic subjects with a long disease duration. From our analysis, we postulate that the diabetic patients in this long duration category with this TCF7L2 variant may result in a lower capacity to secrete insulin and/or promote higher insulin resistance as previously reported [9], [10]. This would lead to an acceleration of the diabetic complications in these
Conflicts of interest
All authors state that they have no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by a research grant of Chungbuk National University in 2011. The biospecimens for this study were provided by the Chungbuk National University Hospital, a member of the National Biobank of Korea, which is supported by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs. All samples derived from the National Biobank of Korea were obtained with informed consent under institutional review board-approved protocols.
References (10)
- et al.
Transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene polymorphism and complication/comorbidity profile in type 2 diabetes patients
Diabetes Res Clin Pract
(2011) Understanding the elusive mechanism of action of TCF7L2 in metabolism
Diabetes
(2012)- et al.
Genotype and tissue-specific effects on alternative splicing of the transcription factor 7-like 2 gene in humans
J Clin Endocrinol Metab
(2010) - et al.
TCF7L2 polymorphism rs7903146 is associated with coronary artery disease severity and mortality
PLoS ONE
(2009) - et al.
Single nucleotide polymorphisms of TCF7L2 are linked to diabetic coronary atherosclerosis
PLoS ONE
(2011)
Cited by (10)
The role of transcription factor 7-like 2 in metabolic disorders
2021, Obesity ReviewsThe pleiotropic effect of rs7903146 on type 2 diabetes and ischemic stroke: a family-based study in a Chinese population
2019, Journal of Thrombosis and ThrombolysisAltered function and expression of the orphan GPR135 at the cardiovascular level in diabetic Wistar rats
2018, Journal of Receptors and Signal TransductionAssociations between diabetic retinopathy and systemic risk factors
2016, Hong Kong Medical Journal