Abstract
Background and aims: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a complex polygenic disorder Various genome wide scans have identified different loci in linkage to T2D; yet, a major locus still remains to be unmasked. Chromosome 10 carries various loci in linkage to T2D in different population studies. Our plans were to identify any potential linkage to T2D on chromosome 10 in an Italian T2D cohort. Methods: We recruited a cohort of T2D sib-pairs from Rome, Italy. Then, we typed 15 microsatellite markers on chromosome 10, Subsequently, we performed a multipoint linkage analysis by using the Genehunter software and the Marshfield map. Results: From our dataset analysis, locus I results linked to T2D at around 95.9 cM (LOD score=1.79). In addition, two loci show suggestive linkage to T2D: locus 2 at around 153 cM (LOD score=0.94) and locus 3 at around 226.1 cM (LOD score=0.79). Conclusions: We suggest that on chromosome 10 there is at least one susceptibility gene for T2D in Italians. Given the variability of loci deriving from previous studies, it is possible that the susceptibility gene responsible for the linkage signal is more than one. Therefore, we propose that T2D candidate genes such as NEUROG3 and DCoH should be studied to establish their contribution to linkage and to the disease.