Association analysis of −429T/C and −374T/A polymorphisms of receptor of advanced glycation end products (RAGE) gene in Malaysian with type 2 diabetic retinopathy

Conflicting results have been reported in different populations on the association between two particular RAGE gene polymorphisms (−429T/C and −374T/A) and retinopathy in diabetic patients. Therefore this study was designed to assess the association between both gene polymorphisms with retinopathy in Malaysian diabetic patients. A total of 342 type 2 diabetic patients [171 without retinopathy (DNR) and 171 with retinopathy (DR)] and 235 healthy controls were included in this study. Genomic DNA was obtained from blood samples and the screening for the gene polymorphisms was done using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism approach. Overall, the genotype distribution for both polymorphisms was not statistically different (p > 0.05) among the control, DNR and DR groups. The −429C minor allele frequency of DR group (12.0%) was not significantly different (p > 0.05) when compared to DNR group (16.1%) and healthy controls (11.3%). The −374A allele frequency also did not differ significantly between the control and DNR (p > 0.05), control and DR (p > 0.05) as well as DNR and DR groups (p > 0.05). This is the first study report on RAGE gene polymorphism in Malaysian DR patients. In conclusion, −429T/C and −374T/A polymorphisms in the promoter region of RAGE gene were not associated with Malaysian type 2 DR patients.