Association of cluster of differentiation 36 gene variant rs1761667 (G>A) with metabolic syndrome in Egyptian adults

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between cluster of differentiation (CD)36 gene variant rs1761667 (G>A) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components in Egyptian patients.

METHODS: This case-control study was conducted on MetS patients attending Suez Canal University Hospital, Egypt from November 2010 to October 2011. Peripheral blood was collected from 100 patients and 100 healthy controls for DNA extraction. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) CD36 gene rs1761667 (G>A) was genotyped using real-time polymerase chain reaction, and allele discrimination technique.

RESULTS: Distribution of CD36 genotypes in the patient group was AA (n=25), AG (n=70), and GG (n=5) while in the control group it was AA (n=51), AG (n=48), and GG (n=1). Both AG and GG genotypes were significantly more prevalent among MetS patients (p<0.001). The odds ratio (OR) for the high risk allele (G) is 2 with 95% confidence interval from 1.30-3.07 (p<0.001). Patients with genotypes AG and GG had significantly higher systolic blood pressure, wider waist circumstance, and higher degree of dyslipidemia (p<0.001) than patients with genotype AA.

CONCLUSION: Our findings show that CD36 rs1761667 SNP is positively associated with increased risk of MetS and its components with genotype AG heterozygotes showing highest frequency among MetS patients.