Analysis of glucocorticoid receptor gene polymorphisms in kidney recipients with post-transplant diabetes

Abstract

Introduction: Post-transplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM) is a severe and common metabolic problem after transplantation. Glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is encoded by the NR3C1 gene and it seems that polymorphisms in this gene lead to altering insulin sensitivity. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of four common polymorphisms in the NR3C1 gene of renal recipients with and without PTDM. Patients and Methods: Blood samples were collected from 32 PTDM and 59 non-diabetic renal-transplanted patients. After DNA extraction, DNA fragments were amplified and directly sequenced using specific primers. Data analysis was performed with SPSS 22.0 software. Results: There was no significant correlation between diabetes incidence and the four investigated polymorphisms of the GR gene. Nevertheless, diabetic patients’ age was higher than non-diabetic patients. Additionally, transplant acute rejection (AR) in diabetic patients was found to be more than non-diabetic patients. Conclusion: Based on gathered information in this research, none of the studied polymorphisms affected the development of PTDM. Further investigations should be conducted in a large sample size.