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Abstract
We set out to determine the genotype distributions of the PI(A) polymorphism of platelet
glycoprotein IIIa, the HPA-3 polymorphism of platelet glycoprotein IIb, and the variable
number tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism of platelet glycoprotein Ib in subjects with
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (Type 2 DM) with (n = 125) and without (n = 90) a clinical
history of macrovascular disease. In 215 white European subjects with Type 2 DM, presence
of coronary artery disease was determined as a clinical history of angina, myocardial
infarction (MI), coronary angioplasty or coronary artery by-pass grafting. Presence
of peripheral vascular disease was defined as a clinical history of intermittent claudication
with confirmatory vascular ultrasound or angiography, intermittent claudication with
undetectable foot pulses and no history of arthralgia or surgery for leg ischaemia,
confirmed by reference to medical case notes. Polymorphisms were detected by polymerase
chain reaction amplification of DNA. There was no difference in the genotype distributions
of subjects with and without macrovascular disease. In subjects with a first MI before
the age of 60 years (n = 26), there was a 38% incidence of PI(A2) compared to 29%
in subjects free from clinically evident macrovascular disease, but this difference
did not reach statistical significance. This study does not support the hypothesis
that polymorphisms of platelet glycoproteins, in particular the PI(A) polymorphism
of platelet glycoprotein IIIa, play an important role in the pathogenesis of macrovascular
disease in subjects with Type 2 DM.