Objective: To test the role of Sulfonylurea receptor gene(SUR) in the pathogenesis of NIDDM in Chinese population.
Methods: We studied the polymorphisms of the SUR gene in intron 24 and exon 22 by polymerase chain reaction(PCR) and appropriate restriction enzyme (PCR-RFLP) in 86 NIDDM patients with at least two first degree diabetic relatives and 148 normal control subjects.
Results: The frequency of "c" allele of intron 24 in NIDDM patients was significantly increased as compared with that in the control subjects (68.02% vs. 55.41, P = 0.007), and the frequency of the "cc" genotype of intron 24 in the NIDDM group was also significantly higher than that in the control group (41.86% vs. 27.7%, P = 0.013, OR = 4.39, CI: 1.52-12.66). The polymorphism of exon 22 described in the Caucasian population was not detected.
Conclusion: The association of the polymorphism of SUR gene with NIDDM in different races suggests that the SUR gene or nearby gene may play an important role in the genetic susceptibility of NIDDM.