Adiponectin promoter polymorphisms are predictors of lipid profile improvement after bariatric surgery

Abstract Our aim was to investigate if single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in the 5′ regions of leptin (LEP, -2548 G > A, rs7799039), resistin (RETN, -420 C > G, rs1862513) and adiponectin (ADIPOQ, -11391 G > A, rs17300539 and -11377 C > G, rs266729) genes were related to changes in body mass index (BMI) and metabolic variables after bariatric surgery in 60 extremely obese individuals. At baseline, ADIPOQ -11391 A-allele carriers showed higher plasma adiponectin and lower total cholesterol levels when compared to G/G homozygotes. Approximately 32 months post-surgery, a mean reduction of 35% in BMI and an important improvement in metabolic profiles were observed. In addition, for the ADIPOQ -11377 polymorphism, a higher decrease in lipid profile was associated to the C/C genotype. Moreover, individuals bearing the A-C haplotype for the two ADIPOQ SNPs were more prone to show a reduction in low-density lipoprotein levels after bariatric surgery (-43.0% A-C carriers vs. -18.1% G-G carriers, p = 0.019). We did not find any association of leptin and resistin SNPs with the clinical parameters analyzed. In summary, our results indicate that the A-C haplotype is a predictor of better lipid profile post-surgery and the studied SNPs in ADIPOQ gene are associated to changes in metabolic variables in obese individuals.

Evaluation of the association between the TAS1R2 and TAS1R3 variants and food intake and nutritional status in children

Abstract Taste perception plays a key role in determining individual food preferences and dietary habits and may influence nutritional status. This study aimed to investigate the association of TAS1R2 (Ile191Val - rs35874116) and TAS1R3 (-1266 C/T - rs35744813) variants with food intake and nutritional status in children followed from birth until 7.7 years old. The nutritional status and food intake data of 312 children were collected at three developmental stages (1, 3.9 and 7.7 years old). DNA was extracted from blood samples and the polymorphisms were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reactions (qPCR) using hydrolysis probes as the detection method. Food intake and nutritional status were compared among individuals with different single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotypes. At 3.9 years old, children homozygous (Val/Val) for the TAS1R2 Ile191Val polymorphism ingested less sugar and sugar-dense foods than children who were *Ile carriers. This finding demonstrated that a genetic variant of the T1R2 taste receptor is associated with the intake of different amounts of high sugar-content foods in childhood. This association may provide new perspectives for studying dietary patterns and nutritional status in childhood.

Nova alternativa para a dosagem de HDL-colesterol / A new alternative to measure HDL-cholesterol

Os objetivos deste estudo foram comparar novos kits comerciais recentemente disponíveis no mercado para a dosagem de HDL-C pelo método direto com o método convencional por precipitaçäo, e verificar se os mesmos atingem as metas internacionais preconizadas para 1998 pelo National cholesterol Education Program (NCEP). 360 amostras de soro foram analisadas pelo método de rotina empregado no Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre e, em paralelo pelos três novos métodos diretos. Todos foram precisos, apresentando coeficiente de variaçäo menor que 6 por cento. Houve uma boa correlaçäo entre os métodos direto e precipitado: r=0,939; 0,707 e 0,817 para DiaSys (D), Boehringer-Mannhein (BM), e Labtest (L), respectivamente. Houve, entretanto, um desvio positivo da linha de identidade para os três kits. A média das diferenças entre os métodos diretos e precipitados foi mais elevada para o kit D, representando em média, 21,25 porcento acima do precipitado. Em comparaçäo com o precipitado L classificou aproximadamente 80 porcento dos pacientes no valor de corte do NCEP (HDL-C 35mg/dl), BM classificou 50 porcento e D, 20 porcento. Quando o LDL-C foi calculado pela equaçäo de Friedewald, utilizando-se os dados de HDL-C obtidos pelos três kits, a classificaçäo dos pacientes segundo o valor de corte de 130 mg/dl (NCEP) näo foi alterada ao ser comparada com os valores de LDL-C calculados com os dados do método precipitado. Os métodos diretos analisados foram precisos, rápidos, de fácil execuçäo e encontraram-se dentro dos limites de erro preconizados pelo NCEP para 1998. Entretanto, existe uma tendência a fornecerem resultados elevados em relaçäo ao método precipitado; portanto, consideramos extremamente importante alertar o clínico sobre possíveis erros de classificaçäo em pacientes "bordeline". Estudos de comparaçäo com o método de referência fazem-se necessários para obtençäo de conclusöes definitivas