%0 Journal Article %T The CTGF -945GC polymorphism is not associated with plasma CTGF and does not predict nephropathy or outcome in type 1 diabetes %A Am¨Ślie Dendooven %A Tri Q Nguyen %A Lodewijk Brosens %A Dongxia Li %A Lise Tarnow %A Hans-Henrik Parving %A Peter Rossing %A Roel Goldschmeding %J Journal of Negative Results in BioMedicine %D 2011 %I BioMed Central %R 10.1186/1477-5751-10-4 %X The study cohort consisted of 448 diabetic nephropathy patients and 419 normoalbuminuric diabetic patients with complete data concerning renal function and cardiovascular characteristics. Genomic DNA was genotyped by a QPCR-based SNP assay. We observed no relation between the -945GC polymorphism and plasma CTGF level, and the genotype frequencies were not different in nephropathy patients vs. normoalbuminuric controls. General and cardiovascular mortality, and renal function decline was similar in patients with CC, CG or GG genotypes.In conclusion, the -945GC SNP does not affect plasma CTGF levels, incidence and prognosis of diabetic nephropathy, and cardiovascular outcome.Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF/CCN-2) is a key peptide mediating organ fibrosis [1-3]. Fonseca et al. identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at position -945 upstream from the transcription initiation site of the CTGF gene (-945GC) overrepresented in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and associated with a higher incidence of lung fibrosis [4]. Subsequent studies have either confirmed or questioned the association of the G allele with incidence and severity of SSc, and its relation with in vivo CTGF expression levels has not been studied to date [5,6]. Also in diabetic nephropathy, CTGF is an important pathogenic factor, and plasma CTGF levels independently predict mortality and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) [7]. A recent study in hemodialysis patients indicated that the -945GC polymorphism might be associated with cardiovascular, but not all-cause mortality [8]. Therefore, we examined the possible relevance of the -945GC polymorphism for plasma CTGF levels, and for nephropathy and associated manifestations in patients with type 1 diabetes.General characteristics and baseline parameters of patients are summarized in Table 1.Smoking and body mass index (BMI) did not differ significantly between diabetic nephropathy and normoalbuminuric subjects. Retinopathy, blood pressure, u %U http://www.jnrbm.com/content/10/1/4