BACKGROUNDKCNJ11, ABCC8, PPARG, and HNF4A have been found to be associated with type 2 diabetes in populations with different genetic backgrounds. The aim of this study was to test, in a Chinese Han population from Beijing, whether the genetic variants in these four genes were associated with genetic predisposition to type 2 diabetes.

METHODSWe studied the association of four representative SNPs in KCNJ11, ABCC8, PPARG, and HNF4A by genotyping them using ABI SNaPshot Multiplex System in 400 unrelated type 2 diabetic patients and 400 unrelated normoglycaemic subjects.

RESULTSrs5219 (E23K) in KCNJ11 was associated with genetic susceptibility to type 2 diabetes (OR = 1.400 with 95% CI 1.117 1.755, P = 0.004 under an additive model, OR = 1.652 with 95% CI 1.086 2.513, P = 0.019 under a recessive model, and OR = 1.521 with 95% CI 1.089 2.123, P = 0.014 under a dominant model) after adjusting for sex and body mass index (BMI). We did not find evidence of association for ABCC8 rs1799854, PPARG rs1801282 (Pro12Ala) and HNF4A rs2144908. Genotype-phenotype correlation analysis revealed that rs1799854 in ABCC8 was associated with 2-hour postprandial insulin secretion (P = 0.005) after adjusting for sex, age and BMI. Although no interactions between the four variants on the risk of type 2 diabetes were detected, the multiplicative interaction between PPARG Pro12Ala and HNF4A rs2144908 was found to be associated with 2-hour postprandial insulin (P = 0.004 under an additive model for rs2144908; and P = 0.001 under a dominant model for rs2144908) after adjusting for age, sex and BMI, assuming a dominant model for PPARG Pro12Ala.

CONCLUSIONSOur study replicated the association of rs5219 in KCNJ11 with type 2 diabetes in Chinese Han population in Beijing. And we also observed that ABCC8 as well as the interaction between PPARG and HNF4A may contribute to post-challenge insulin secretion.