Absence of replication in the french population of the association betweenBETA2/NEUROD-A45T polymorphism and Type 1 diabetes

BETA2/NEUROD1 is a key regulator or pancreatic islet morphogenesis and insu lin gene transcription. The BETA2/NEUROD1 gene-locus lies on human chromoso me 2q32, in a region previously linked to Type 1 diabetes (IDDM7). Recently , a significant association has been reported between NEUROD1-A45T polymorp hism and Type 1 diabetes in the Japanese population. In an attempt to repli cate this observation, we performed a case/control study in the French popu lation. We failed to find any association between the A45T polymorphism and the disease-trait The study therefore suggests that NEUROD1 is unlikely to play a major role in susceptibility to Type 1 diabetes in the French popul ation.