Association of HNF4 gene polymorphisms with susceptibility to type 2 diabetes

The present study aimed to explore the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the hepatocyte nuclear factor-4 (HNF-4) gene and the incidence of type 2 diabetes in the Chinese Bai population in Dali city, China. The polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method was used to analyze four SNPs (rs4810424, rs1884613, rs1884614 and rs2144908) in the HNF-4 gene in 44 patients with type 2 diabetes and 87 healthy controls in Chinese Bai individuals. The haploid type was subsequently built to assess its association with the incidence of type 2 diabetes in the Bai population in Dali city. No significant differences were observed between the genotype and allele frequencies of the four SNPs in the HNF-4 gene and type 2 diabetes mellitus (P>0.05). However, the frequency of haplotype, CCTA, built by rs4810424, rs1884613, rs1884614 and rs2144908 was significantly higher in the type 2 diabetes mellitus group compared with the control group ((2)=8.34, P=0.004). The four polymorphisms, rs4810424, rs1884613, rs1884614 and rs2144908, in the HNF-4 gene were not the susceptible loci for type 2 diabetes in the Bai population of Dali city, however, the haplotype, CCTA, built from the four SNPs may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes in this population.