Abstract
Background and Objective: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is considered as an autoimmune disease, in which both environmental and genetic factors are involved. Vitamin D (Vit D) is a vital hormone that plays an important role in immune system homeostasis, acting through vitamin D receptor (VDR). Gene polymorphisms in VDR were shown to be associated with immune diseases. The aim of this study was to look for a possible association between T1DM and the polymorphisms in VDR gene at the sites namely TaqI, BsmI and ApaI. Materials and Methods: A total of 50 T1DM patients (F = 25, M = 25) were studied. Patients and 50 age matched controls were genotyped for BsmI, ApaI and TaqI polymorphisms using PCR-RFLP assay. Statistical analyses were performed using MegStat (R) version 9.0 computer program. Differences in distribution of the genotypes were compared using one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results: The results of the present study clearly showed for the first time, that there is an association between VDR gene polymorphisms and T1DM at the BsmI site in Saudi diabetic patients. Conclusion: This study could help us to establish the role of VDR gene in occurrence of T1DM. This would help us to develop a pharmacogenomic approach towards treatment of diabetes in relation to serum vit D levels.