Association of Gly82Ser polymorphism in the RAGE gene with diabetic retinopathy in type II diabetic Asian Indian patients

Aim/hypothesis: The binding of advanced glycation end products (AGE) to the receptor induces cellular oxidative stress and vascular dysfunction and this is implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This study aims to investigate the frequency of Gly82Ser polymorphism in exon 3 of the receptor for AGE (RAGE) gene and its association with DR in Asian Indian patients who have type 11 diabetes. Methods: 200 Asian Indian patients with at least 15-year duration of type 11 diabetes were identified. This group included (1) 100 patients with retinopathy (DR) and (2) 100 patients without retinopathy (DNR). Fifty unrelated healthy controls (CT) were also included in the study. Genotype frequencies of Gly82Ser polymorphism were studied by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis using AluI enzyme. Later, the nucleotide change was confirmed by DNA sequencing. Results: The frequency of the Ser82 allele was significantly higher, 18% in the DNR group compared to 7% in the DR group (P = .03). The same genotype was 2% in the CT group. Conclusion/interpretation: Our result suggests that Ser82 allele in the receptor for AGE gene is a low-risk allele for developing DR in Asian Indian patients who have type 11 diabetes. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.