Complex Haplotypes of the PGC-1α Gene Are Associated with Carbohydrate Metabolism and Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) is a transcriptional coactivator implicated in transcriptional programs of hepatic gluconeogenesis, oxidative phosphorylation, and insulin release by β-cells. To study associations of the PGC-1α gene locus with carbohydrate metabolism and type 2 diabetes in humans, we identified several polymorphisms in the promoter region that were located in a haplotype block distinct from a second haplotype block containing part of intron 2 and extending beyond exon 13. Each block contained five common haplotypes. Oral glucose tolerance testing revealed associations of promoter haplotype combinations with 30- and 60-min postload plasma glucose levels, whereas haplotypes in both blocks were associated with indexes of β-cell function. The associations of promoter haplotypes are supported by functional studies showing that some polymorphisms are located in transcription factor binding sites and affect transactivation in an allele-specific manner. By comparing patients with type 2 diabetes and control subjects, we observed borderline significant differences of four-loci haplotype distributions in the downstream haplo-type block. Moreover, the haplotype that was associated with the strongest insulin response to glucose conferred the lowest risk of type 2 diabetes (P < 0.01). Thus, the PGC-1α gene locus influences carbohydrate metabolism and contributes to type 2 diabetes in the population studied.