Association of prediabetes-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms with microalbuminuria

Increased glycemic exposure, even below the diagnostic criteria for diabetes mellitus, is crucial in the pathogenesis of diabetic microvascular complications represented by microalbuminuria. Nonetheless, there is limited evidence regarding which single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with prediabetes and whether genetic predisposition to prediabetes is related to microalbuminuria, especially in the general population. Our objective was to answer these questions. We conducted a genomewide association study (GWAS) separately on two population-based cohorts, Ansung and Ansan, in the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES). The initial GWAS was carried out on the Ansung cohort, followed by a replication study on the Ansan cohort. A total of 5682 native Korean participants without a significant medical illness were classified into either control group (n = 3153) or prediabetic group (n = 2529). In the GWAS, we identified two susceptibility loci associated with prediabetes, one at 17p15.3-p15.1 in the GCK gene and another at 7p15.1 in YKT6. When variations in GCK and YKT6 were used as a model of prediabetes, this genetically determined prediabetes increased microalbuminuria. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that fasting glucose concentration in plasma and SNP rs2908289 in GCK were associated with microalbuminuria, and adjustment for age, gender, smoking history, systolic blood pressure, waist circumference, and serum triglyceride levels did not attenuate this association. Our results suggest that prediabetes and the associated SNPs may predispose to microalbuminuria before the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Further studies are needed to explore the details of the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying this genetic association.