Abstract

The K121Q polymorphism in ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1 (ENPP1) is associated with type 2 diabetes and obesity. The possibility of other ENPP1 polymorphisms influencing these phenotypes has received little attention. Our aim was to examine the associations of tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes of the linkage disequilibrium (LD) block containing K121Q polymorphism with type 2 diabetes in a Polish population, controlling for any effect of obesity. We genotyped 426 type 2 diabetic case and 370 control subjects for seven SNPs in ENPP1. In the total group, neither type 2 diabetes nor obesity was significantly associated with any SNP. However, in obese subjects, two SNPs were significantly associated with type 2 diabetes: the Q allele of K121Q (odds ratio 1.6 [95% CI 1.003–2.6]) and T allele of rs997509 (4.7 [1.6–13.9]). In the LD block, four SNPs plus the K121Q polymorphism distinguished six haplotypes, three of which carried the Q allele. Interestingly, the T allele of rs997509 sufficed to distinguish a 121Q-carrying haplotype that was significantly more associated with type 2 diabetes than the other two (4.2 [1.3–13.5]). These other two 121Q-carrying haplotypes were not associated with type 2 diabetes. In conclusion, we found a new SNP, rs997509, in intron 1 that is strongly associated with risk of type 2 diabetes in obese individuals. The molecular mechanisms underlying this association are unknown.