Glutathione S-transferase genes and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: Role of sexual dimorphism, gene-gene and gene-smoking interactions in disease susceptibility.
Compromised defense against reactive oxygen species (ROS) is considered important in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); therefore, genes encoding antioxidant defense enzymes may contribute to disease susceptibility. This study investigated whether polymorphisms in genes encoding glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1), T1 (GSTT1), and P1 (GSTP1) jointly contribute to the risk of T2DM.
In all, 1120 unrelated Russian subjects (600 T2DM patients, 520 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects), were recruited to the study. Genotyping was performed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR; del/del polymorphisms of GSTM1 and GSTT1) and TaqMan-based PCR (polymorphisms I105V and A114V of GSTP1). Plasma ROS and glutathione levels in study subjects were analyzed by fluorometric and colorimetric assays, respectively.
Genotype del/del GSTT1 was significantly associated with the risk of T2DM (odds ratio [OR] 1.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17-2.21, P?=?0.003). Gender-stratified analysis showed that the deletion genotypes of GSTM1 (OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.30-3.05; P?=?0.0002, Q?=?0.016) and GSTT1 (OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.22-4.09; P?=?0.008, Q?=?0.0216), as well as genotype 114A/V of GSTP1 (OR 2.85, 95% CI 1.44-5.62; P?=?0.005, Q?=?0.02) were associated with an increased risk of T2DM exclusively in males. Three genotype combinations (i.e. GSTM1+?×?GSTT1+, GSTM1+?×?GSTP1 114A/A and GSTT1+?×?GSTP1 114A/A) showed significant associations with a decreased risk of T2DM in males.
This study demonstrates, for the first time, that genes encoding glutathione S-transferases jointly contribute to the risk of T2DM, and that their effects on disease susceptibility are gender specific.