Distribución de polimorfismos del gen del antígeno-4 del linfocito T citotóxico en población chilena con diabetes mellitus tipo 1 / Distribution of cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 gene polymorphisms in Chilean population with type 1 diabetes mellitus

ABSTRACT

Background: Cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) molecule is an important regulator of T cell activation involved in the down-regulation of immune response. Their polymorphisms +49 A/G and CT60 have been suggested to confer susceptibility to autoimmune endocrine disorders. The aim of this study was to determine the association of CTLA-4 gene polymorphisms with T1D in the Chilean population. We also wanted to study if the combined haplotypes of +49 A/G and CT60 had an impact on risk for T1D. Methods: To evaluate the impact of allelic variants CT60 and +49 A/G SNPs were studied in a Chilean population, including 248 T1D patients and 160 controls. Genotypes of both polymorphisms of CTLA-4 gene were determinate by PCR-restriction fragment polymorphism (PCRRFLP).Results: No statistical differences were observed when comparing patients with diabetes and controls for both CTLA-4 genotypes. However, the haplotype analysis between CT60 and +49 A/G showed an interesting combination of risk conformed by G*G combination with an OR of 1.648 [1.19- 2.28], (p = 0.002). Conclusions: The G*G haplotype could be a risk marker in patients with T1D in Chilean population.