Evaluation of the Associations of GC and CYP2R1 Genes and Gene-Obesity Interactions with Type 2 Diabetes Risk in a Chinese Rural Population

Introduction: Group-specific component (GC) and cytochrome P450 family 2 subfamily R member 1 (CYP2R1) gene polymorphisms and obesity have been associated with an increased risk for development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Asian populations. Objective: This study assessed the associations of interactions between GC gene variants and CYP2R1 gene variants and between genes and obesity with T2DM risk. Methods: A study that included 2,271 subjects was performed. Eight single nucleotide polymorphisms in the GC and CYP2R1 genes were genotyped. Interaction analysis was performed using rs7041 in the GC gene and rs1993116 in the CYP2R1 gene. The effects of multiplicative and additive gene-gene and gene-environment interactions on T2DM risk were assessed. Results: The T2DM risk was significantly associated with being overweight/obese, abdominal obesity, rs7041, and rs1993116. A significant additive interaction between rs1993116 and rs7041 was associated with T2DM. In addition, there was a significant multiplicative interaction between rs7041 and body mass index (BMI) associated with elevated blood glucose levels, and at a higher BMI (>28.47), the G allele carrier showed a stronger effect than the TT genotype. Conclusions: The interactions between GC rs7041-CYP2R1 rs1993116 and GC rs7041-BMI may explain the mechanisms by which these factors increase the risk of T2DM development.