Gender differences in the association of ELMO1 genetic variants with type 2 diabetes in Tunisian Arabs.

PURPOSE: Polymorphisms of the engulfment and cell motility 1 (ELMO1) gene were recently associated with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and its complications. We investigated the association of rs10255208, rs7782979, and rs2041801 ELMO1 gene variants with T2DM in Tunisian Arabs. METHODS: Subjects comprised 900 T2DM patients and 600 normoglycemic controls. ELMO1 genotyping was done by PCR-RFLP; the contribution of ELMO1 variants to T2DM was analyzed by Haploview and regression analysis. RESULTS: Minor allele frequencies of rs7782979 and rs10255208 ELMO1 variants were significantly higher among unselected T2DM cases than controls, and significant differences in the distribution of rs7782979 genotypes were seen between T2DM cases and control subjects, which was seen in male but not female subjects. Three-locus ELMO1 haplotype analysis identified haplotype GAA to be positively associated, and haplotypes GCA, AAA, and GCG to be negatively associated with T2DM. The distribution of these haplotypes was gender-dependent for some (GCA, GCG, AAG), and gender-independent for others (GAA, AAA). This translated into altered risk of T2DM in male or female subjects, which persisted after adjusting for BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and serum lipid profile. CONCLUSION: These results confirm role for ELMO1 as T2DM susceptibility locus, which appears to be gender-dependent.