FTO rs 9939609 SNP Is Associated With Adiponectin and Leptin Levels and the Risk of Obesity in a Cohort of Romanian Children Population

Abstract

Obesity is a disorder with increasing frequency in children and adolescents, directly linked with various diseases. Variants in the FTO (fat mass and obesity-related) gene have been associated with body mass index and waist and hip circumferences in widespread populations.The aim of this case-control study was to assess if there is any association between FTO gene variants rs9939609, respectively, rs17817449 with anthropometric and metabolic biomarkers (fasting glucose, TC, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides) and adipokines (adiponectin and leptin), in Romanian obese children.A total of 387 children, 201 obese and 186 nonobese individuals, were included in this prospective study. Genotyping of the FTO gene polymorphisms for all subjects was performed using the restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP) method.Significant associations were found between FTO rs9939609 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and obesity. AA genotype carriers have a 2.02 times higher risk for obesity compared with AT+TT genotype carriers. Risk allele carriers of rs17817449 SNP had somewhat higher values of weight, body mass index, waist and hip circumference, total cholesterol, triglycerides, adiponectin, and fasting glucose.This study revealed the genetic association between rs9939609 SNP of FTO and obesity in a Romanian population, and to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate this association in a Romanian population. This study also established that combined variant genotypes (AA/GG) of FTO rs9939609 /rs17817449 are strongly associated with several measures of adiposity (weight, BMI-SD, mid-upper arm circumference, tricipital skinfold thicknesses) and are also associated with total cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL-cholesterol levels.

FTO genotype and weight status among preadolescents: Assessing the mediating effects of obesogenic appetitive traits

“…This is in contrast to many, 12, 19 but not all, 35,36 studies among children that demonstrated an additive increase in the odds of overweight or obesity with each copy of the high-risk allele. Our finding of a recessive model linking FTO to BMI z-score may have occurred by chance.…”

Association of FTO rs9939609 polymorphism with serum leptin, insulin, adiponectin, and lipid profile in overweight adults

“…In our study, there was no association between leptin level and FTO polymorphism after adjustment for calorie intake and physical activity. By contrast, Duicu et al found no association between FTO rs9939609 and leptin level [28]. However, their participants were children.…”

Adolescent obesity and the role of the fat mass and obesity-associated gene polymorphism

“…The association of the FTO gene (rs9939609) with obesity is confirmed in different populations and age groups [1,[3][4][5][6][7][8]. The AA genotype is associated with obesity and risk has been increased 1.31-1.35 fold in A allele carriers [3,6,8].…”

“…We found no association between the FTO gene and PFG/insulin/HOMA-IR levels, but PFG levels higher than 100 mg/dL were seen more frequently in AA genotype patients without MetS. Similarly, Liu et al did not report any association among rs9939609 variant and PFG, insulin levels or IR in adolescents [33].Another study by Xi et al showed no association with glucose and lipid levels, despite showing an association of the FTO gene with obesity [34].The FTO gene variant rs9939609 is associated with obesity and related phenotypes in severely obese children [1,[5][6][7][8]. This metabolic diversity may be explained by differences in patients' characteristics.…”

“…Fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene was the first susceptibility locus for obesity identified by GWAS [3,4]. A common variant (rs9939609) in the FTO gene has been shown to be associated with obesity and related traits in children and adolescents [1,2,[5][6][7][8][9]. The association between FTO gene polymorphism and obesity has been demonstrated consistently in Caucasian populations [2]; however, the relationship has not been replicated in all ethnicities.…”