LAUSR

Vitamin D‐binding protein or group‐specific component (Gc) is the major plasma carrier protein of Vitamin D. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms, rs7041 (NM_000583.3:c.1296G>T;NP_000574.2:p.Asp432Glu) and rs4588 (c.1307C>A; p.Thr436Lys), in the GC gene result in three major genotypes, that is, GC1F (c.1296T, c.1307C), GC1S (c.1296G, c.1307C), GC2 (c.1296T, c.1307A), and phenotypes such as Gc1F (p.432Asp, p.436Thr), Gc1S (p.432Glu, p.436Thr), and Gc2 (p.432Asp, p.436Lys). Significant variations in the frequencies of GC subtypes (genotypes/phenotypes) are reported in different populations living in different geographical locations, for example, GC1S/Gc1S (c.1296G, c.1307C/p.432Glu, p.436Thr) and GC2/Gc2 (c.1296T, c.1307A/p.432Asp, p.436Lys) are predominant in Caucasians and people living in the northern hemisphere, and GC1F/Gc1F (c.1296T, c.1307C/p.432Asp, p.436Thr) is predominant in Africans. However, frequencies of major GC subtypes are not known in the Kuwaiti population. In this study, we investigated 512 alleles to identify the major GC subtypes in Kuwaiti nationals.