Abstract

We carried out a case-control study in a patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) to evaluate the association of ITGA2 gene polymorphisms in microvascular complications. The BglII gene polymorphism of the a2b1 Integrin, a platelet collagen receptor, has been suggested as a genetic risk factor for diabetic retinopathy. The association study included 125 patients genotyped by PCR-RFLP using sequence-specific primers for ITGA2 C807T variant and BglII restriction enzyme. The 125 participants were consists of 25 participants in each group with diabetic neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy, newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, and participants without diabetes.

The T/T genotype of the ITGA2 gene was associated with the diabetic retinopathy group (OR= 2.43, 95% CI 2.56 – 4.11, p= 0.001). Thus, the BglII genotype is related to the prevalence of retinopathy independent of the other variables, but it is not independently associated with the prevalence of nephropathy and neuropathy. The ITGA2 gene polymorphisms were a risk marker for diabetic retinopathy among the various microvascular complications in type 2 diabetes. These ITGA2 gene polymorphisms would further help create an evidence base to support the markers for preventing the development of Diabetic Retinopathy among type 2 diabetes.