Association of Hepatic Lipase Gene Polymorphisms with Hypertriglyceridemia and Low High-Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol Levels Among South Indian Subjects Without Diabetes

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the association of four variants of the hepatic lipase (HL [or LIPC]) gene with various lipid parameters among South Indian subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT). Subjects and Methods: In total, 747 NGT subjects were randomly selected from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiological Study (CURES). Serum triglycerides, serum cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured using a Hitachi-912 autoanalyzer (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany). Genotyping of HL gene variants was done by the polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism method, and 20% of samples were sequenced to validate the genotypes obtained. Haplotype analysis was also carried out. Results: The TT genotype of the rs1800588 C/T (C-480T) polymorphism was significantly associated with hypertriglyceridemia, with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.58 (95% confidence interval 1.38–4.85, P = 0.003), whereas those with the CC genotype of the rs6074 A/C (Thr479Thr) had significantly lower HDL-C levels (41.3 – 9.8 mg/dL) compared with the AA genotype (43.6 – 10.2 mg/dL, P = 0.02). Haplotype analysis showed the TGC haplotype was significantly associated with low HDL-C levels. Conclusions: Among South Indian subjects without diabetes, the rs1800588 C/T (C-480T) and rs6074 C/A (Thr479Thr) variants of the HL gene are associated with hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL-C, respectively. The TGC haplotype was significantly associated with low HDL-C.