Analysis of linkage disequilibrium between polymorphisms in the KCNJ9 gene with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Pima Indians.

The KCNJ9 gene encodes a G-protein-coupled inwardly rectifying potassium channel and is located within a region on human chromosome 1 that has been linked with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Pima Indians and Caucasians. To assess the potential contribution of genetic alterations within KCNJ9 to diabetes susceptibility in the Pimas, we have genotyped 11 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 50 Pimas with diabetes and 50 Pimas over the age of 45 without diabetes and in 51 sib pairs, discordant for the disease, who were characterized by decreased allele sharing at the chromosomal location of the maximum LOD score. We detected three SNP clusters exhibiting distinct linkage disequilibria. Polymorphisms in intron 2, exon 3, and the 3'-UTR were in statistically significant linkage disequilibrium with diabetes in the case-control group (P = 0.006), but not the sibling pairs (P = 0.097). A weak association with diabetes was also found in the original linkage set comprising 1150 Pimas (odds ratio = 0.64/P = 0.079 for a dominant model and OR = 0.67/P = 0.005 for a recessive model). However, no effect on linkage was detected following adjustment for one of the most strongly associated SNPs in the entire original linkage set. Our results indicate that variants in KCNJ9 are associated with diabetes in Pimas but do not account for the linkage of 1q with diabetes in this population.