Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) subjects of Bangladeshi origin with fast N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) acetylator phenotype show lower insulin sensitivity than slow acetylator phenotype

Multiple genes may contribute to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) is a phase II drug detoxifying enzyme for which susceptibility to the development of T2DM has been linked with its genetic polymorphisms. The role of polymorphisms in NAT2 gene in the development of T2DM among Bangladeshi population is not yet known. In the present study, to investigate whether NAT2 gene polymorphisms play a role in the susceptibility to T2DM, three common polymorphisms 481C>T, 590G>A, and 857G>A were investigated by PCR-RFLP method in 93 T2DM patients and 145 healthy controls of Bangladeshi origin. Our results indicate that none of the markers were associated with the increased risk of T2DM development in the studied population (P > 0.05). Although statistically insignificant (P = 0.259), fast acetylator type was higher in T2DM subjects than in control subjects (53.3 % vs. 45.7 %). T2DM subjects with fast acetylator type had significantly higher absolute insulin level and lower insulin sensitivity than that of slow acetylator type (P = 0.018 and P = 0.038 respectively), the biochemical and molecular basis of this variation needs to be studied further.