The Deletion Polymorphism in Exon 8 of Uncoupling Protein 2 is Associated with Severe Obesity in a Saudi Arabian Case-Control Study

Yahia A Kaabi*

Received: January 30, 2018;   Published: February 08, 2018

DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2018.02.000741

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Abstract

Objective: To establish whether 45-bp insertion (I)/deletion (D) polymorphisms in Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) are associated with moderate and/or severe obesity in a Saudi Arabian population.

Methods: The study enrolled 151 (male and female) subjects originating from the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, and assigned each to either a ‘non-obese’, ‘moderately obese,’ or ‘severely obese’ group. Genomic DNA was extracted from all subjects, and screened for UCP2 insertion/deletion polymorphisms using a standard PCR protocol.

Results: The overall frequencies of the UCP2 45-bp insertion/deletion genotypes D/D, I/D, and I/I within the analyzed population were 58.3%, 36.4%, and 5.3% respectively. The D/D genotype was highly prevalent within the severely obese group (82.9 %) compared to the non-obese (46.2%) and moderately obese (53.3%) groups. Using a dominance model, the conducted logistic regression analysis showed no significant association between the insertion allele and moderate obesity (OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.35–1.59, P = 0.585); however, in contrast, a strong association was found between the deletion allele and severe obesity (OR= 0.18, 95% CI: 0.07–0.44, P = 0.0004).

Conclusion: The present study reported the frequency of the UCP2 45-bp insertion/deletion polymorphisms in a population originating from eastern Saudi Arabia, and furthermore, identified a strong association between the D/D genotype and severe obesity in this population.

Keywords: Uncoupling protein 2 insertion/deletion polymorphism; Obesity

Abbreviations: UCP2: Uncoupling Protein 2; UTR: Untranslated Region; BMI: Body Mass Index; KFHU: King Fahad Hospital of the University; PCR: Polymerase Chain Response; SD: Standard Deviation; ORs: Odds Ratios

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