Association of variants in the carnosine peptidase 1 gene (CNDP1) with diabetic nephropathy in American Indians

CNDP1 is located on 18q22.3, where linkage with diabetic nephropathy has been observed in several populations, including Pima Indians. However, evidence for association between CNDP1 alleles and diabetic nephropathy is equivocal and population-dependent. This study investigated CNDP1 as a candidate for diabetic kidney disease in Pima Indians. Nineteen tag single nucleotide polymorphisms spanning the CNDP1 locus were selected using genotype data from Chinese individuals in the HapMap resource along with 2 variants previously associated with diabetic nephropathy. All variants were genotyped in 3 different samples including a diabetic end-stage renal disease (ESRD) case–control study, a family-based study of diabetic individuals who participated in the linkage study for nephropathy, and a cohort of diabetic individuals in whom longitudinal measures of glomerular filtration rates (GFR) were performed. There was no statistically significant evidence for association with diabetic ESRD. However, nominal evidence for association was found in the family study, where markers rs12957330 (Odds ratio [OR] = 0.29 per copy of G allele; p = 0.04) and rs17817077 (OR = 0.46 per copy of G allele; p = 0.05) were associated with diabetic nephropathy. In addition, markers rs12964454, rs7244647, and rs7229005 were associated with changes in GFR (− 8.5 ml/min per copy of the G allele; p = 0.04; 18.8 ml/min per copy of the C allele; p = 0.03; and − 13.4 ml/min per copy of the C allele; p = 0.001, respectively). These findings provide nominal evidence supporting a role between CNDP1 variants and diabetic kidney disease.