Aims: IFIH1 (Interferon Induced with Helicase C domain 1) gene encodes a sensor of double-stranded RNA, which initiates antiviral activity. Recent studies have indicated the association of rare and common IFIH1 variants with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D). The aim of this study was to investigate whether polymorphisms in the IFIH1 locus are a risk factor for T1D in Caucasian patients from Poland.

Methods: We genotyped 514 T1D patients and 713 healthy control individuals for rs3747517, rs1990760, rs2111485 and rs13422767 variants. Cumulative genetic risk score (CGRS) was calculated using unweighted and weighted approaches. We also examined the expression of IFIH1 gene in a cohort of 90 T1D patients.

Results: All studied polymorphisms showed significant association with type 1 diabetes. The risk alleles G of rs3747517, rs2111485, rs13422767 and A of rs1990760 were observed more frequently in T1D group with P values and allelic odds ratio OR (95%CI) < 0.0001, 1.742 (1.428-2.126); 0.001, 1.336 (1.125-1.588); < 0.0001, 1.799 (1.416-2.285); 0.0005, 1.359 (1.144-1.616), respectively. The risk for type 1 diabetes increased with the growing number of the risk alleles. OR (95%CI) for carriers of ≥ 6 risk alleles reached 2.387 (1.552-3.670) for unweighted CGRS and 3.132 (1.928-5.089) for weighted CGRS. Furthermore, IFIH1 gene expression levels in unstimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells of T1D patients were significantly higher compared to healthy individuals (mean ± SEM mRNA copy number 163.8 ± 15.7 vs. 117.8 ± 7.2; P = 0.046).

Conclusions: This study confirms the association of the IFIH1 locus with susceptibility to T1D in the Polish population. The cumulative effect of rs3747517, rs1990760, rs2111485 and rs13422767 variants on type 1 diabetes risk was observed.