Association of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor 18-bp Insertion/Deletion Variant with Susceptibility to Diabetic Nephropathy.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46568/bios.v7i1.243Keywords:
Diabetic nephropathy, VEGF, T2DM, Pakistan, 18bp indelAbstract
Genetic polymorphisms in cytokine genes have been implicated as important contributors to susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy, a major microvascular complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) is a multifunctional cytokine that plays a critical role in endothelial cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and regulation of vascular permeability. The VEGF gene is highly polymorphic, and several variants have been reported to influence the risk of T2DM and its associated microvascular complications, including diabetic nephropathy. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between the 18-bp insertion/deletion (I/D) rs35569394 polymorphism in the VEGF gene and susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy among individuals with T2DM. Genotyping was performed using conventional polymerase chain reaction. A total of 400 participants were enrolled (200 diabetic nephropathy patients and 200 healthy controls). Allelic frequencies and genotype distributions were compared between cases and controls using SPSS software. Significant differences in allelic frequency and genotype distribution were observed between the groups. Chi-square analysis revealed a significant association between the heterozygous I/D genotype and diabetic nephropathy (χ² = 14.93, p < 0.001). The homozygous I/I genotype was significantly associated with high-density lipoprotein levels, glomerular filtration rate, and bilirubin levels (p < 0.001). Additionally, the heterozygous I/D genotype in the −2549 promoter region was more frequent in diabetic nephropathy cases in the Pakistani population. The deletion allele may influence VEGF expression; however, functional validation was not performed. Further studies are warranted to explore its potential as a biomarker or therapeutic target.
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