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Recent data suggest that common variation in the transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene is associated with type 2 diabetes. Evaluation of such associations in independent samples provides necessary replication and a robust assessment of effect size. Using four TCF7L2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; including the two most associated in the previous study), we conducted a case-control study in 2,158 type 2 diabetic subjects and 2,574 control subjects and a family-based association analysis in 388 parent-offspring trios all from the U.K. All SNPs showed powerful associations with diabetes in the case-control analysis, with strongest effects at rs7903146 (allele-wise relative risk 1.36 [95% CI 1.24-1.48], P = 1.3 x 10-11). Data were consistent with a multiplicative model. The family-based analyses provided independent evidence for association at all loci (e.g., rs4506565, 62% transmission, P = 7 x 10-5) with no parent-of-origin effects. The frequency of diabetes-associated TCF7L2 genotypes was greater in cases ascertained for positive family history and early onset (rs4606565, P = 0.02); the population-attributable risk, estimated from the least-selected cases, is ∼16%. The overall evidence for association for these variants (P = 4.4 x 10-14 combining case-control and family-based analyses for rs4506565) exceeds genome-wide significance criteria and clearly establishes TCF7L2 as a type 2 diabetes susceptibility gene of substantial importance. Diabetes 55:2640-2644, 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF)-4alpha is part of a transcription factor network that is key for the development and function of the beta-cell. Rare mutations in the HNF4alpha gene cause maturity-onset diabetes of the young. A number of type 2 diabetes linkage studies have found evidence of linkage to 20q12-13.1 where the HNF4alpha gene is located. Two recent studies have found an association between four common variants of the alternative P2 promoter region and type 2 diabetes. These variants are in strong linkage disequilibrium, and the minor alleles define one common risk haplotype. In both studies, the risk haplotype explained a large proportion of the evidence of linkage to 20q12-13.1. We aimed to assess this haplotype in a U.K. Caucasian study of 5,256 subjects. We typed two single nucleotide polymorphisms tagging the risk haplotype (rs4810424 and rs2144908) and found evidence of association in both case-control and family-based studies; rs4810424 marginally demonstrated the stronger association with an overall estimated odds ratio of 1.15 (95% CI 1.02-1.33) (P = 0.02). The effect of the P2 haplotype on type 2 diabetes risk is less than in the initial studies, probably reflecting that these studies used 20q12-13.1-linked cases. In conclusion, we have replicated the association of the HNF4alpha P2 promoter haplotype with type 2 diabetes in a U.K. Caucasian population where there is no evidence of linkage to 20q. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The orphan receptor small heterodimer partner (SHP, NR0B2) modulates the transcription activity of the MODY1 gene HNF4a. Mutations in SHP were found in 7% of Japanese obese young-onset type 2 diabetic patients and were associated with moderate obesity and increased birth weight. We investigated SHP in 1927 U.K. subjects, examining relationships with type 2 diabetes, obesity, and birth weight. Sequencing of the coding region of SHP in 122 obese, young-onset type 2 diabetic patients detected the polymorphism G171A. The polymorphism was not associated with diabetes in case control or familial association studies. The A allele (frequency 0.07) was not associated with obesity in type 2 diabetic subjects (n = 348), their parents (n = 272), or young nondiabetic adults (n = 925). However, the rare (<1%) AA homozygotes had a raised BMI in each cohort; this was significant when all cohorts were combined (Z score = 0.67 AA vs. -0.05 G/x, P = 0.02). There was no association with corrected birth weight in 382 normal babies, but the only AA baby was 4,069 g. Our study suggests that genetic variation in SHP is unlikely to be common in the predisposition to diabetes, obesity, or increased birth weight in U.K. Caucasians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]