Leptin gene tetranucleotide repeat polymorphism in obese individuals in Egypt

Authors

  • Rizk Elbaz Genetics Unit, Mansoura Faculty of Medicine, Egypt
  • Nahed Dawood Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Egypt
  • Hala Mostafa Tanta University, Egypt
  • Somaia Zaki Tanta University, Egypt
  • Alaa Wafa
  • Ahmad Settin Mansoura University, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Leptin is a peptide hormone secreted by the adipose tissue. Genetic mutations of the leptin gene were reported to cause severe obesity.

Objectives: This study was undertaken to investigate the association of the polymorphic tetranucleotide repeat locus 3' UTR of leptin gene with obesity in Egyptian cases.

Subjects and Methods:  This study has included 120 subjects affected with obesity 57 of them were consistent with the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome (MS) while the rest (63) had simple obesity. These cases were compared to 83 normal weight healthy controls. All participants were subjected to an estimation of their body mass index (BMI), waist hip ratio (WHR), serum as well as characterization of leptin gene tetranucleotide repeat (TTTC)n polymorphism by PCR technique.

Results:  Thirteen different alleles were identified in all cases of obesity versus only 5 alleles in normal controls. The most frequent allele was the 154 bp allele (57.5% in all cases of obesity vs. 92.2% in controls). Total cases with obesity showed a significantly higher carriage rate of class II alleles (I/II + II/II genotypes) compared to healthy controls (48.3% vs. 6.0%, OR=14.6, 95% CI=5.5-38.6, p=<0.0001). This was more apparent in the group with simple obesity (52.3% vs. 6.0%, OR=17.2, 95% CI=6.1-48.1, p=<0.0001) than in MS cases (43.9 % vs. 6.0 %, OR =12.19, 95% CI=4.9-30.4, p=< 0.0001). Interestingly, cases with MS did not differ from those with simple obesity regarding their class I or II allele frequencies (p> 0.05). Although serum lipids were significantly higher in obese cases compared to controls, no difference was found among obese cases with different leptin gene class genotypes (p> 0.05).

Conclusions: Tetranucleotide repeat (TTTC)n polymorphism in the 3' UTR of the human leptin gene was associated with obesity in Egyptian obese cases showing higher class II allele carriage rate. However, the lipoprotein levels were not affected by this polymorphism.

Key words: Leptin gene; Obesity; Metabolic syndrome; Gene polymorphism.

 

Author Biographies

Rizk Elbaz, Genetics Unit, Mansoura Faculty of Medicine, Egypt

Associate Professor, Genetics Unit, Mansoura Faculty of Medicine, Egypt

Nahed Dawood, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Egypt

Fellow, Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Egypt

Hala Mostafa, Tanta University, Egypt

Professor, Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Egypt

Somaia Zaki, Tanta University, Egypt

Professor, Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Egypt

Ahmad Settin, Mansoura University, Egypt

Professor, Pediatrics and Genetics, Genetics Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt

Downloads

Published

2015-03-12

How to Cite

Elbaz, R., Dawood, N., Mostafa, H., Zaki, S., Wafa, A., & Settin, A. (2015). Leptin gene tetranucleotide repeat polymorphism in obese individuals in Egypt. International Journal of Health Sciences, 9(1). Retrieved from https://pub.qu.edu.sa/index.php/journal/article/view/964

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 1 (2015)

Section

Original Paper

License


Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

    1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

    1. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

  1. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).