Aims/hypothesis  

In the present study, we sought to examine the evidence that LMNA variants are associated with type 2 diabetes and quantitative metabolic traits in French Europid individuals.

Methods  

We genotyped 24 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) spanning the LMNA gene in 3,093 case–control participants. The association between LMNA SNPs and quantitative metabolic traits was also examined in the 1,674 normoglycaemic adults who made up the control cohort.

Results  

SNP rs505058, a synonymous SNP (D446D) in exon 7, showed nominal evidence of association with type 2 diabetes [p = 0.003, odds ratio (OR) 1.30 (95% CI 1.09–1.56)] in French Europids. A meta-analysis of available rs505058 genotype data from 7,819 participants provided support for a modest association of rs505058 with type 2 diabetes [p = 0.003, OR 1.19 (95% CI 1.06–1.35)]. We found no evidence (p = 0.91) that the tag SNP rs4641 is associated with type 2 diabetes. However, a meta-analysis of all available rs4641 genotype data in a total of 15,591 participants produced borderline evidence of association [p = 0.054, OR 1.05 (95% CI 1.00–1.11)]. SNP rs6669212, in the 3′ untranslated region of LMNA, exhibited suggestive associations with WHR (p = 0.013), fasting serum levels of total cholesterol (p = 0.023) and triacylglycerol (p = 0.015). We emphasise that these quantitative trait associations are not corrected for multiple testing.

Conclusions/interpretation  

The available data do not support a major effect of common LMNA variation on type 2 diabetes susceptibility in northern Europeans. Further large-scale studies are required to conclusively establish the extent to which LMNA variants have an impact on quantitative metabolic traits.