Role of type IV collagen in prolactin release from anterior pituitaries of male rats

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of mutations in the islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) gene in a Spanish population with type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Using polymerase chain reaction single-stranded conformation polymorphism, we examined the coding region and the 5′-untranslated region (UTR) of the IAPP gene in 177 unrelated type 2 diabetic patients, 110 healthy control subjects, 38 women with GDM, and 38 gestational control subjects. Mutations were confirmed by DNA sequencing. A heterozygous C-to-A nucleotide substitution at +79 bp in intron 2 of the IAPP gene was detected. The frequencies of the +79-bp polymorphism (A allele) were 6.8% in type 2 diabetic patients, 7.7% in nondiabetic control subjects, 11.8% in women with GDM, and 9.2% in gestational control subjects. No AA genotypes were detected. Nondiabetic subjects and patients with type 2 diabetes bearing the CA genotype had lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels than subjects bearing wild genotype. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed an independent association (p<0.001; odds ratio: 0.33; 95% confidence interval: 0.17–0.63). We did not detect any sequence variant within exons 1 or 2. One diabetic patient was heterozygous for a silent mutation at codon 31 of exon 3 (Asn₃₁ AAC→AAT). Our findings indicate that the presence of the +79-bp polymorphism of the IAPP gene in nondiabetic subjects and in patients with type 2 diabetes is associated with lower levels of LDL cholesterol. Furthermore, abnormalities of the coding regions or the 5′-UTR of the IAPP gene are not associated with type 2 diabetes or GDM in the Spanish population.