Aims/hypothesis In the present study we investigated potential associations of a set of 45 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in 20 candidate genes on eight chromosomes with diabetic nephropathy (DN) in type 2 diabetes mellitus. We aimed to compare two methodological approaches suitable for analysing susceptibility to complex traits: single-and multi-locus analyses. Materials and methods The study comprised a total of 647 subjects in one of three groups: diabetes with or without DN, or no diabetes. Genotypes were detected by PCRbased methodology (PCR only, PCR plus RFLP, or allelespecific PCR). Haplotypes were inferred in silico. Set association (tested using SUMSTAT software) was used for multilocus analysis.

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Background: Excessive angiogenesis is one of the characteristic features of psoriasis. Objective: To determine the possible genetic background of neo-angiogenesis in plaque psoriasis, frequent polymorphisms in matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and endothelin 1 (ET-1) genes were studied. Methods: The case group (n = 119) included patients with plaque psoriasis, aged 44 ± 15 years. The age of onset of psoriasis was 27 ± 11 years. The control group (n = 184) consisted of healthy subjects without any individual history of psoriasis, aged 37 ± 15 years. C(-735)T MMP-2 and G(8002)A ET-1 polymorphisms were determined by PCR reaction with subsequent restriction analyses. Results: A significant difference in genotype distribution of C(-735)T MMP-2 between psoriatic and control patients was found (p_corr = 0.008). Two associated genotypes (CCGG and CTGG) of the two polymorphisms were significantly less frequent in psoriatic patients (p_corr = 0.03 and p_corr = 0.008, respectively). Conclusion: The results seem to reflect a different susceptibility of MMP-2 as well as of some associated MMP-2 and ET-1 genotypes to psoriasis.