Association of KCNJ11 rs5219 gene polymorphism with type 2 diabetes mellitus in a population of Syria: a case-control study

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is believed to be a polygenic disorder that develops as a result of a complex interaction between multiple genes and environmental factors. KCNJ11 gene encodes a Kir6.2 protein which forms the inner section of the potassium channels in pancreatic beta cells. Several studies found that KCNJ11 polymorphism increases T2DM risk. Our study aimed to investigate the association between rs5219 polymorphism of the KCNJ11 gene and T2DM in Syrian patients. METHODS: This case-control study involved 75 T2DM patients and 63 healthy controls. The KCNJ11 rs5219 polymorphism was genotyped by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP). RESULTS: The frequency of the risk allele K was similar between the two groups (38.7% vs. 38.1%, P = 0.132). The frequency of the KK genotype was higher among the patients’ group (16% vs. 4.8%), and the frequency of the EK genotype was higher among the control group (45.3% vs. 66.6%); however, the differences were statistically insignificant. The KK genotype was significantly associated with T2DM in the recessive model with an OR of 3.81 (95% CI 1.024–14.17, P = 0.035). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that rs5219 polymorphism of the KCNJ11 gene is an important risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus in a sample of the Syrian population.