A polymorphism in the promoter of UCP2 gene modulates lipid levels in patients with type 2 diabetes

A G/A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the position -866 of the UCP2 promoter modulates UCP2 expression in adipose tissue and pancreatic beta-cell, and is associated with variations of body mass index (BMI) and insulin secretion in nondiabetic subjects. We investigated associations of this SNP with traits related to obesity, dyslipidemia, and hyperglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes. The -866 G/A SNP in the UCP2 promoter was genotyped by PCR/RFLP in 681 type 2 diabetic patients. Increased triglyceride (> or = 1.70 mM), total cholesterol (> or = 6.0 mM) and LDL-cholesterol (> or = 3.35 mM) levels were significantly less frequent in homozygous carriers of the G-allele than in homozygous carriers of the A-allele. Odds ratios for the risk of dyslipidemia in GG vs AA carriers were 0.45, 0.57, and 0.50, for triglyceride, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol, respectively (all p<0.007). No genetic effects of this polymorphism on the BMI or on traits related to the severity of hyperglycemia were observed. In conclusion, a common polymorphism in the promoter region of the UCP2 gene modulates triglycerides and cholesterol levels in French Caucasian subjects with type 2 diabetes. The implications of this effect in the evolution of type 2 diabetes and its macrovascular complications deserve to be investigated.