Genetic mapping of a susceptibility locus for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus on chromosome llq

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Abstract
LOCI in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on chromo-some 6 and the insulin (INS) region on chromosome 11 have been implicated in susceptibility to insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) through candidate gene investigations1–5, but they may account for less than 50% of genetic risk for the disease6. Genome-wide linkage studies have led to localization of more than 10 sus-ceptibility loci for insulin-dependent diabetes in the non-obese dia-betic (NOD) mouse7 and the BB rat8. Similar studies are now possible in humans through the development of dense genetic maps of highly informative microsatellite loci obtained using polymerase chain reaction analysis9. We have applied microsatellite markers from recent Genethon maps10,11, and other highly informative mar-kers, in a genome-wide linkage study in IDDM. Here we report evidence for the localization of a previously undetected suscept-ibility locus for IDDM in the region of the FGF3 gene on chromo-some llq. Our result shows the potential of genome-wide linkage studies to detect susceptibility loci in IDDM and other multifactor-ial disorders.