EFFECTS OF VITAMIN D RECEPTOR GENE POLYMORPHISMS ON SUSCEPTIBILITY TO TYPE 1 DIABETES MELLITUS

Objective To investigate the influence of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms on susceptibility to type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in the Chinese Han population. Method One hundred and thirty-six Chinese Han people, including 54 T1DM patients and 82 unrelated healthy subjects as control were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism for three restriction sites in the VDR gene, which were ApaI, TaqI, and BamI. Results The frequency of B allele of BsmI site in VDR gene was significantly higher in T1DM patients than in healthy subjects (P = 0.033) while no difference was found between the two groups in the distribution of ApaI and TaqI polymorphisms. Conclusion The BsmI polymorphism of VDR gene may be associated with the susceptibility to T1DM in the Chinese Han population of Beijing.