ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To find whether polymorphisms of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T and A1298C are risk factors for diabetic nephropathy (DN) among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients from Western Iran. DESIGN AND METHODS: The MTHFR polymorphisms were detected in 72 microalbuminuric, 68 macroalbuminuric and 72 normoalbuinuric T2DM patients by PCR-RFLP. RESULTS: The possession of both MTHFR 677T and 1298C alleles increase the risk of microalbuminuria to 4.3-fold (p=0.007) in T2DM patients. The presence of either MTHFR 677T, 1298C allele is sufficient to increase the risk of macroalbuminuria in T2DM patients by 4.1 and 5.5 times (p=0.027, and p=0.006, respectively). The concomitant presence of both 677T and 1298C alleles act in synergy to increase the risk of macroalbuminuria by 20.4-fold (p<0.001) and progression of DN from microalbuminuria to macroalbuminuria (OR=4.73, p=0.01). CONCLUSION: Both MTHFR 677T and 1298C alleles increased the susceptibility to the onset and progression of DN in Iranians with T2DM.