Objective: To assess the association between the common variation in the gene encoding angiotensinogen, AGT, and the presence of microalbuminuria in Canadian Oji-Cree with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Research design and methods: We compared the frequencies of the AGT promoter and M235T polymorphisms among three subgroups of adult Oji-Cree: 50 subjects who had type 2 diabetes with microalbuminuria, 6 subjects who had type 2 diabetes without albuminuria and 302 non-diabetic, normotensive subjects.
Results: We found the AGT T235 allele was present at a significantly higher frequency, and that T235/T235 homozygotes were significantly more prevalent, among the subjects who had type 2 diabetes with microalbuminuria than among the subjects in the other two groups.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that the AGT T235 allele is a determinant of the nephropathy susceptibility related to type 2 diabetes in these aboriginal Canadians.