Pfaffenseller, Rebeca Ferreira; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9047-0043; http://lattes.cnpq.br/9819875981013386
Abstract:
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a progressive disturb that eventually may lead to type 2 diabetes
mellitus (T2DM) in genetically susceptible individuals. Genetic studies show that single
nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes involved in glucose and lipid metabolic pathways
are related to high predisposition to develop MetS and T2DM. However, there are few studies
associating SNPs, MetS and T2DM in Brazil, especially in regions whose population is highly
miscegenated. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the association between
SNPs rs7903146 in the TCF7L2 gene and rs2287019 in the GIPR gene and T2DM in MetS
individuals. It is a cross-sectional case-control study, and the study sample was composed of
236 subjects, aged 40 years or more. Every subject had the MetS diagnosis, according to the
criteria of the International Diabetes Federation. The case group consisted of 178 T2DM
individuals, and the control group had 58 subjects without diabetes or altered fasting glycemia.
The genotypes were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction technique. Pearson's
chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, Student's t test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal-Wallis
test and Variance Analysis (ANOVA) were used to compare variables between groups and the
genotype frequencies of the studied SNPs. The genotype and allele frequencies of rs7903146
did not differ between the study groups (p = 0.250 and p = 0.120, respectively). Regarding
rs2287019, subjects with the heterozygous genotype had increased odds to develop T2DM (OR
= 11.92, 95% CI 1.47-96.39, p = 0.020). Significant differences were found between the
rs7903146 genotypes for fasting glycemia, fasting insulin, HOMA-β and triglycerides in MetS
patients with T2DM. No significant difference was detected among rs2287019 genotypes and
the demographic, clinical, anthropometric and biochemical variables in the whole study sample,
except for total cholesterol (p = 0.042). In conclusion, carriers of the GIPR rs2287019 CT
genotype have increased risk to develop T2DM, which suggests that alterations in the action of
incretins may play an important role in the pathophysiology of T2DM in MetS individuals.
There was no association between the TCF7L2 rs7903146 polymorphism and risk of T2DM in
this population group, suggesting that this SNP is not associated with T2DM in Northeast
Brazilian miscegenated population. However, further studies with a large study sample are
required to confirm these results.