The Association between KCNQ1 Gene Polymorphism and Type 2 Diabetes Risk: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND KCNQ1 (potassium voltage-gated channel KQT-like sub-family, member 1) encodes a pore-forming subunit of a voltage-gated K(+) channel (KvLQT1) that plays a key role for the repolarization of the cardiac action potential as well as water and salt transport in epithelial tissues. Recently, genome-wide association studies have identified KCNQ1 as a type 2 diabetes (T2D) susceptibility gene in populations of Asian descent. After that, a number of studies reported that the rs2237892 and rs2237895 polymorphism in KCNQ1 has been implicated in T2D risk. However, studies on the association between these polymorphism and T2D remain conflicting. To investigate this inconsistency, we performed this meta-analysis. METHODS Databases including Pubmed, EMBASE, Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched to find relevant studies. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of association. Potential sources of heterogeneity were also assessed by subgroup analysis and meta-regression. RESULTS A total of 25 articles involving 70,577 T2D cases and 99,068 controls were included. Overall, the summary odds ratio of C allele for T2D was 1.32 (95% CI 1.26-1.38; P<10-5) and 1.24 (95% CI: 1.20-1.29; P<10-5) for KCNQ1 rs2237892 and rs2237895 polymorphisms, respectively. Significant results were also observed using co-dominant, dominant and recessive genetic models. After stratifying by ethnicity, sample size, and diagnostic criteria, significant associations were also obtained. CONCLUSIONS This meta-analysis suggests that the rs2237892 and rs2237895 polymorphisms in KCNQ1 are associated with elevated type 2 diabetes susceptibility.