Zinc transporter-8 gene (SLC30A8) is associated with type 2 diabetes in Chinese.

Abstract

Several genome-wide association studies identified a strong association of SLC30A8 with type 2 diabetes in individuals of European ancestry. The effect of the association of rs13266634 with type 2 diabetes or related glycemic traits has not been fully extended to non-European populations, and a comprehensive examination of common variants in the gene has not yet been carried out in Han Chinese. The objective of the study was to investigate the association of SLC30A8 with type 2 diabetes in Chinese. A comprehensive gene-based association study was performed using 14 tagging single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) of SLC30A8 in Han Chinese subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT; n = 721), impaired glucose regulation (IGR; n = 375), and type 2 diabetes (n = 521). A significant association for SNP rs13266634 was observed between patients with type 2 diabetes and NGT controls (P = 0.016). The association was also observed between combined type 2 diabetes/IGR and NGT subjects (P = 0.002). The adjusted odds ratios for homozygote CC vs. TT at this locus were 1.71 for type 2 diabetes (95% confidence interval 1.19-2.45, P = 0.002) and 1.77 for type 2 diabetes and IGR (95% confidence interval 1.29-2.42, P = 0.0001). We further studied the genotype-phenotype correlation in 70 Han Chinese using iv glucose tolerance test and found an association between SNP rs13266634 and acute insulin response to glucose and disposition index (adjusted P = 0.012 and 0.004, respectively). Our results provide evidence that SLC30A8 is a susceptible locus for type 2 diabetes in Chinese population, and its variant can influence insulin secretion.