Novel KIF6 Polymorphism Increases Susceptibility to Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Coronary Heart Disease in Han Chinese Men

OBJECTIVES The effect of the KIF6 polymorphism Trp719Arg on the risk of T2DM and T2DM with CHD remains unclear. METHODS 946 unrelated subjects of Han Chinese origin were recruited, comprising 346 controls, 312 T2DM, and 288 T2DM + CHD patients. Genotyping was performed by high-resolution melting curve analysis using real-time qPCR. The impact of the variant on T2DM/T2DM + CHD and gene-sex interaction were evaluated by stepwise multiple regression analysis. RESULTS The frequencies of the Trp719 allele in T2DM and T2DM + CHD patients were similar to the control group, whereas significantly increased 719Arg allele frequencies were observed in male T2DM and T2DM + CHD patients compared with the corresponding control group. Further sex partition analysis revealed that only male 719Arg allele carriers had approximately 3-fold and 5-fold higher risk of T2DM and T2DM + CHD, respectively, than noncarriers. There was also a significant association between carriers and higher TG and lower HDL-C levels. CONCLUSION The KIF6 719Arg allele may increase the risk of T2DM and T2DM + CHD only in Han Chinese men by modulating lipid metabolism, especially with regard to TG and HDL.