Common RASGRP1 Gene Variants That Confer Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Background: Genome-wide association studies have validated the RAS guanyl nucleotide-releasing protein 1 (RASGRP1) gene as a type 2 diabetes (T2D) susceptibility locus. Aims: This study aimed to replicate and verify the association of RASGRP1 tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms with T2D in a Chinese Han population. Methods: Eleven common variants of RASGRP1 were detected using TaqMan technology in 1272 healthy controls and 1234 T2D patients. All study participants were unrelated members of the Han ethnic group in China. In this study, the rs7403531 genotype frequency differed significantly between T2D patients and controls (allele: adjusted p=8.30×10−6, genotype: adjusted p=2.50×10−5, OR=1.366 [95% CI=1.206–1.546]). The rs4465567–rs4567661 C-A and C-C haplotypes were also significant risk factors for T2D (adjusted p=0.0002 and p=0.0006, respectively) with a global p-value of 6.46×10−5. These results indicate that in a Chinese Han population, RASGRP1 variants, particularly rs7403531, confer a risk for deve...