LMNA gene polymorphism [1908/CT] and indices of obesity in a sample of Egyptian females

ABSTRACT

Nuclear Lamins A and C are encoded by LMNA gene and present in terminally differentiated cells. The LMNA gene polymorphism [1908C/T] has been reported to be associated with adipose tissue metabolism and obesity indices in some populations, suggesting that this polymorphism may increase the risk of obesity. This study was conducted to estimate the C and T allele frequencies of LMNA gene polymorphism [1908], and to investigate the association of T-allele with obesity in a sample of Egyptian obese females. One hundred and forty Iwo obese females [BMI>30Kg/m[3]] and 100 age matched non obese females [BMI control group were included in this study. The LMNA 1908C/T polymorphism was detected by PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism [PCR-RFLP] in obese and non obese females. The quantitative biochemical traits in the obese subjects were also studied. The frequency of T allele heterozygotes and homozygotes were higher in the obese females than in the non-obese, but the difference was statistically non significant [X[2]=1.52, P=0.46]. Also, the LMNA 1908 T allele frequency was higher in obese females than in the control group [0.36 and 0.30 respectively] but not significantly different [X[2]=1.74; P=0.15]. No statistical significant differences were detected in BMI, WHR ratio, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, high density lipoproteins and low density lipoproteins between obese females carrying C and T alleles. These results indicate that it is unlikely that the T-allele in the LMNA [1908] gene increases the risk of obesity or related quantitative traits in Egyptian females, however, the role of T-allele in obesity cannot be ruled out as its frequency was higher in obese than in non-obese females