Association of lipoprotein lipase gene polymorphisms with obesity and type 2 diabetes in an Asian Indian population

Abstract

Aims: Lipoprotein lipase (LPL), a pivotal enzyme in lipoprotein metabolism, catalyzes the hydrolysis of triglycerides of very lowdensity lipoproteins and chylomicrons. Assuming that the variants in the promoter of the LPL gene may be associated with changes in lipid metabolism leading to obesity and type 2 diabetes, we examined the role of promoter variants (–T93G and – G53C) in the LPL gene in an urban South Indian population. Methods: The study subjects (619 type 2 diabetic and 731 normal glucose-tolerant (NGT) subjects) were chosen from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study, an ongoing population-based study in southern India. The polymorphisms were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction-fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Linkage disequilibrium (LD) was estimated from the estimates of haplotypic frequencies. Results: The two polymorphisms studied were not in LD. The –T93G was not associated with type 2 diabetes but was associated with obesity. 11.5% of the obese subjects (62/541) had the XG(TGþGG) genotype compared with 6.4% of the nonobese subjects (52/809; P¼0.001). The odds ratio for obesity for the XG genotype was 1.766 (95% CI: 1.19–2.63, P¼0.005). Subjects with XG genotype also had higher body mass index and waist circumference compared with those with TT genotype. With respect to G53C, subjects with the XC(GCþCC) genotype had 0.527 and 0.531 times lower risk for developing type 2 diabetes and obesity, respectively. Conclusions: Among Asian Indians, the –T93G SNP of the LPL gene is associated with obesity but not type 2 diabetes, whereas the –G53C SNP appears to be protective against both obesity and type 2 diabetes.