Background: The pathogenesis of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) remains poorly understood. Recent studies have implicated that monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is associated with diabetic microvascular or macrovascular complications. However, the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)c.2518A/G -rs1024611 in the MCP-1 gene with diabetic retinopathy remains controversial. In the present study, we evaluated the association of SNP in the MCP-1 gene with diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic macular edema (DME) in a Chinese population from Northern China with type 2 diabetes.
Methods: We conducted a case-control study, which enrolled 1,043 subjects with type 2 diabetes (528 with DR, including 277PDR; 515 without DR), and SNP genotyping of c.2518A/G in the MCP-1 gene was performed using the polymerase chain reaction. Genomic DNA was isolated from 3 ml samples of whole blood using a modified conventional DNA extraction method. The genotype and allele frequencies of 2518A/G were studied by using an automated DNA sequencer (ABI PRISM 3730 DNA Sequencer).
Results: The demographic and clinical characteristics did not differ among genotype subgroups. The MCP-1(-2518) GG genotype was significantly associated with DR susceptibility with OR of 1.481 (95 % CI, 1.019-2.153) (P = 0.046). There were no significant differences in the MCP-1(-2518) G allele frequencies in DR compared to non-diabetic retinopathy (DNR) (P > 0.05, OR = 0.841, 95 % CI, 0.705-1.002). The MCP-1(-2518) GG genotype was significantly associated with high-risk PDR susceptibility with OR of 2.656 (95 % CI, 1.222-5.775) (P = 0.014). The MCP-1(-2518) G allele was significantly increased in high-risk PDR patients (P = 0.020, OR = 1.481, 95 % CI, 1.070-2.051) compared with A allele. Genotype and allele frequencies of various DME of the DR patients were compared, but there were no significant associations established (P > 0.05).
Conclusions: It is likely that the MCP-1 c.2518G/G genotype is a susceptibility gene for DR in Chinese type 2 diabetic patients, especially the high-risk PDR. There is no association with DME and c.2518G/G.