Searching for type 2 diabetes genes on chromosome 20

Genome scans in families with type 2 diabetes identified a putative locus on chromosome 20q. For this study, linkage disequilibrium mapping was used in an effort to narrow a 7.3-Mb region in an Ashkenazi type 2 diabetic population. The region encompassed a 1-logarithm of odds (LOD) interval around the microsatellite marker D20S107, which gave a LOD score of >3 in linkage analysis of a combined Caucasian population. This 7.3-Mb region contained 25 known and 99 predicted genes. Predicted single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were chosen from public databases and validated. Two SNPs were unique to the Ashkenazi. Here, 91 SNPs with a minor allele frequency of greater than or equal to10% were genotyped in pooled DNA from 150 case subjects and 150 control subjects of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. The SNP association study showed that SNP rs2664537 in the TIX1 gene had a significant P value of 0.035, but the finding did not replicate in an additional case pool. In addition, HNF4a and Mybl2 were screened for mutations and new polymorphisms. No mutations were identified, and a new nonsynonymous SNP (R687C in exon 14 of Mybl2) was found. The limits to this type of association study are discussed.