Interaction analysis of the CBLB and CTLA4 genes in type 1 diabetes

J Leukoc Biol. 2007 Mar;81(3):581-3. doi: 10.1189/jlb.0906577. Epub 2007 Jan 5.

Abstract

Gene-gene interaction analyses have been suggested as a potential strategy to help identify common disease susceptibility genes. Recently, evidence of a statistical interaction between polymorphisms in two negative immunoregulatory genes, CBLB and CTLA4, has been reported in type 1 diabetes (T1D). This study, in 480 Danish families, reported an association between T1D and a synonymous coding SNP in exon 12 of the CBLB gene (rs3772534 G>A; minor allele frequency, MAF=0.24; derived relative risk, RR for G allele=1.78; P=0.046). Furthermore, evidence of a statistical interaction with the known T1D susceptibility-associated CTLA4 polymorphism rs3087243 (laboratory name CT60, G>A) was reported (P<0.0001), such that the CBLB SNP rs3772534 G allele was overtransmitted to offspring with the CTLA4 rs3087243 G/G genotype. We have, therefore, attempted to obtain additional support for this finding in both large family and case-control collections. In a primary analysis, no evidence for an association of the CBLB SNP rs3772534 with disease was found in either sample set (2162 parent-child trios, P=0.33; 3453 cases and 3655 controls, P=0.69). In the case-only statistical interaction analysis between rs3772534 and rs3087243, there was also no support for an effect (1994 T1D affected offspring, and 3215 cases, P=0.92). These data highlight the need for large, well-characterized populations, offering the possibility of obtaining additional support for initial observations owing to the low prior probability of identifying reproducible evidence of gene-gene interactions in the analysis of common disease-associated variants in human populations.

Publication types

  • Letter
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / genetics*
  • Animals
  • Antigens, CD / genetics*
  • Antigens, Differentiation / genetics*
  • CTLA-4 Antigen
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Denmark
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / genetics*
  • Gene Frequency
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease
  • Genetic Testing
  • Humans
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / genetics
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-cbl / genetics*
  • Rats

Substances

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing
  • Antigens, CD
  • Antigens, Differentiation
  • CTLA-4 Antigen
  • CTLA4 protein, human
  • CBLB protein, human
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-cbl