Prevalence of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T and A1298C polymorphisms in Taiwanese patients with Type 2 diabetic mellitus

Objectives: Deficiency and/or decreased activity of methyltetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) resulted from MTHFR variants are associated with hyperhomocysteinemia, an independent risk factor for vasculopathies in diabetic patients. The aim of this study was to examine MTHFR genotypes between healthy and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) subjects. Design and methods: MTHFR C677T and A1298C genotypes were analyzed in 56 T2DM and 62 healthy subjects by PCR-RFLP. Association between MTHFR genotypes and T2DM as well as the lipid/glucose metabolic indexes among T2DM subjects was statistically analyzed. Results: No significance in the distribution of MTHFR genotypes between healthy and T2DM subjects is found. Besides, no significant associations between lipid/glucose metabolic indexes with MTHFR genotypes among diabetic patients are observed. Conclusions: These data indicate the previous observation that MTHFR polymorphisms may play some roles in the pathogenesis and complications of T2DM in Caucasians are unlikely to be applied in Taiwanese patients.