Afia Abbas

Association of Alpha-2 Beta-1 Integrin Polymorphism with Retinopathy in Diabetic Patients

Aim: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a health concern because it leads to complications such as retinopathy and nephropathy. Pakistan has 6.9 million DM affected people that will be doubled by 2025. A study was designed to determine the role of genetics in diabetic retinopathy in Pakistani type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Material and methods: It was a cross-sectional case-control study that included 236 subjects, divided into Group I (54 volunteers without diabetes), Group II (30 T2DM patients without retinopathy) and Group III (152 T2DM patients with retinopathy). A BglII polymorphism of α2β1 integrin gene was genotyped in all these individuals by using RFLP method. Results: The frequency of BglII polymorphism (++ and +-) genotypes was found significantly different between group I and group III individuals. Conclusion: BglII (+/+, +/-) genotypes, gender of subject, age at the onset of diabetes, and duration of diabetes is associated with development of diabetic retinopathy in Pakistani T2DM patients.