Objective: To test the hypothesis that Werner's syndrome gene (WRN) contributes to the genetic susceptibility to the type 2 diabetes in Chinese population.
Methods: Polymerase chain reaction-restrictive fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was used to test the distribution of a polymorphism (Cys1367Arg ) of the WRN gene in 241 type 2 diabetes patients and 108 normal control subjects.
Results: The frequency of "R" allele of the WRN gene in type 2 diabetes patients whose diagnosis age >/= 45 was significantly increased as compared with that in the control subjects (9.6% vs 4.6%, P = 0.04).
Conclusion: The high frequency of allele "R" of the WRN gene in early onset Chinese type 2 diabetes patients suggests that the WRN gene may contribute to the genetic susceptibility of type 2 diabetes in Chinese population through either directly causing diabetes or interacting with the diabetogenic gene.