Quantitative assessment of the variation in IGF2BP2 gene and type 2 diabetes risk

Insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 2 (IFG2BP2) belongs to an mRNA-binding protein family involved in the development and stimulation of insulin action, which has attracted considerable attention as a candidate gene for type 2 diabetes (T2D) since it was first identified through genome-wide association approach. The relationship between IFG2BP2 and T2D has been reported in various ethnic groups; however, these studies have yielded contradictory results. To investigate this inconsistency, we performed a meta-analysis of 35 studies involving a total of 175,965 subjects for two wildly studied polymorphisms (rs4402960 and rs1470579) of the IFG2BP2 to evaluate the effect of IFG2BP2 on genetic susceptibility for T2D. An overall random-effects per-allele OR of 1.13 (95% CI: 1.12-1.15; P < 10(-5)) and 1.09 (95% CI: 1.07-1.12; P < 10(-5)) was found for the two variants, respectively. Significant results were also observed using dominant or recessive genetic model. No significant results between study heterogeneity were found in most of the comparison. In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, sample size, diagnostic criterion and mean age and BMI of cases, significantly increased risks were found for these polymorphisms in almost all genetic models. This meta-analysis demonstrated that these two common polymorphisms is a risk factor for developing T2D, but these associations vary in different ethnic populations.