However, genome-wide association studies are accelerating our knowledge of the genetics of complex diseases, and have identified seven other key genes in T2DM: CDKAL1, CDK5 regulatory subunit associated protein-like 1; CDKN2, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A; FTO, fat mass and obesity associated; HHEX, haematopoietically expressed homeobox; IDE, insulin-degrading enzyme; IGF2BP2, insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 2; SLC30A8, solute carrier family 30 (zinc transporter), member 8; TCF7L2, transcription factor 7-like 2 (T-cell specific, HMG-box).
Of the 18 polymorphisms, the ADAMTS9, CDKAL1, CDKN2A/B-rs1412829, FTO, IGF2BP2, JAZF1, SLC30A8, TCF7L2, and WFS1 variants were associated with type 2 diabetes risk in our population.
The fetal insulin hypothesis proposes that common genetic variants that reduce insulin secretion also reduce birth weight, and an association of low birth weight and the type 2 diabetes risk alleles at the HHEX-IDE and CDKAL1 loci were recently reported.
None of the other previously reported SNPs were associated with type 2 diabetes; however, associations were found between CDKAL1 and HHEX variants and acute insulin response (AIR), where the Caucasian risk alleles for type 2 diabetes were associated with reduced insulin secretion in normoglycemic Pima Indians.
Among the novel type 2 diabetes risk loci identified by genome-wide association studies, TCF7L2, HHEX, SLC30A8 and CDKAL1 appear to affect beta cell function.
In the total population, the TCF7L2 and IGF2BP2 variants most strongly associated with increased risk for type 2 diabetes/IGT and increased AUC for glucose, while the CDKAL1 polymorphism associated with decreased AUC for insulin.
We found that type 2 diabetes risk alleles at the CDKAL1 and HHEX-IDE loci were associated with reduced birth weight when inherited by the fetus (21 g [95% CI 11-31], P = 2 x 10(-5), and 14 g [4-23], P = 0.004, lower birth weight per risk allele, respectively).
In our case-control subjects, susceptibility to type 2 diabetes was replicated in TCF7L2 (rs12255372), CDKAL1 (rs7756992, rs7754840), HHEX (rs7923837), IGF2BP2 (rs4402960 and rs1470579), CDKN2A/B (rs10811661), and SLC30A8 (rs13266634).
We have identified significant association between variants in CDKN2A/B, CDKAL1 and TCF7L2, and type 2 diabetes in a Han Chinese cohort, indicating these genes as strong candidates conferring susceptibility to type 2 diabetes across different ethnicities.
The type 2 diabetes susceptibility alleles at HHEX-IDE and CDKAL1 loci are associated with low BMI at age 8 years in children who were born large for gestational age.
We report a novel association between the fetal ADCY5 type 2 diabetes risk allele and decreased birthweight, and confirm in meta-analyses associations between decreased birthweight and the type 2 diabetes risk alleles of HHEX-IDE and CDKAL1.