Interaction between PPARG Pro12Ala and ADIPOQ G276T concerning cholesterol levels in childhood obesity.

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of two candidate gene polymorphisms for insulin resistance and lipid levels in obese children and adolescents.
METHODS: Two markers of insulin resistance and lipid levels, Pro12Ala in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma2 (PPARG) and G276T in adiponectin (ADIPOQ), were genotyped in 285 obese children and adolescents. As the apolipoprotein E (APOE) polymorphisms C112R and R158C are known to have a profound impact on lipid levels in both children and adults, results were adjusted for APOE genotype.
RESULTS: We found no association for PPARG or ADIPOQ polymorphisms with Body Mass Index (BMI), High Density Lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, triglycerides or Insulin Resistance estimated by Homeostasis Model of Assessment (HOMA-IR). Wild type carriers of PPARG Pro12Ala (p<0.05), homozygous carriers of the variant allele of ADIPOQ G276T (p<0.001) and epsilon4 carriers of APOE (p<0.001) had higher total and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels adjusted for age, gender, BMI and insulin sensitivity. A PPARG/ADIPOQ risk genotype combination was identified by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) comparing all existing combinations. Carriers of PPARG Pro/Pro and ADIPOQ 276 T/T had higher total (5.0 [4.1-5.8] vs. 4.1 [3.6-4.6] mmol/l) and LDL-cholesterol levels (3.7 [2.9-4.5] vs. 3.0 [2.5-3.5] mmol/l) compared with carriers of other combinations (p<0.001). Importantly, the PPARG and ADIPOQ associations were unaffected when adjusting for APOE genotype.
CONCLUSIONS: Genetic variants in candidate genes for insulin resistance are associated with cholesterol levels in obese children and adolescents, and may offer additional information in the risk assessment of obese children.