Association of the D358A polymorphism of IL6R gene with type 2 diabetes in Hubei Han Chinese

Abstract

To investigate the association of the D358A polymorphism of interleukin 6 receptor( IL6R ) gene with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Hubei Han Chinese. The single nucleotide polymorphism D358A of the IL6R gene was genotyped in 581 T2DM patients and 353 healthy controls. Meta-analysis was used to assess the reported association between the IL6R D358A and T2DM. The frequencies of CC genotype and C allele of IL6R D358A in the patients were significantly lower than those in controls (CC: 13.4% vs. 20.7%, P=0.003; C: 36.0% vs. 41.8%, P=0.012), with the CC genotype being a protective factor for T2DM (OR=0.595, P=0.003). Logistic regression analysis suggested that the CC genotype was significantly associated with T2DM after adjusted for age, sex, blood pressure and obesity (OR=0.615, 95% CI: 0.407- 0.928, P=0.021). Meta-analysis of 6 studies indicated that there existed genetic heterogeneity, and the CC genotype was associated with lower risk of T2DM (P=0.009, OR=0.64, 95% CI: 0.48-0.85). IL6R is a susceptibility gene for T2DM in Han Chinese population of Hubei, and the CC genotype may serve as a genetic protective factor of T2DM.