ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the relationship between the genetic polymorphisms, which played roles in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome (MS), and susceptibility of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in Han people in Guangdong province. Methods The subjects were selected from an epidemiologie survey in Guangdong province. Fifty to 117 adult NAFLD patients, who met the criteria of Chinese guideline for diagnosis of NAFLD and had typically clinical, biochemical signs and abdominal ultrasonography, were recruited in the study. By using 1 : 1 matched method of nested case-control study, same numbers of people without NAFLD were included as controls. The genetic analyses was performed by using genomic DNA extracted from peripheral blood. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was applied to detect the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 9 sites in 7 candidate genes. Results Most SNPs of the genes were related to the susceptibility of NAFLD. Some of them had positive relation (increasing the risk) such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-238, adiponectin-45, leptin-2548, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) γ-161 and phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT)-175. Some had negative relation (decreasing the risk) including adiponectin-276 and hepatic lipase-514. And some had no relation (TNF-α-380 and PPAR g coactivator-1α-482). Conclusion Most cytokines' SNPs of candidate genes discovered in MS patients are related to the susceptibility of NAFLD.