Fat mass and obesity-associated ( FTO ) and leptin receptor ( LEPR ) gene polymorphisms in Egyptian obese subjects.

BACKGROUND: Several studies addressed the contribution of fat mass and obesity-associated ( FTO ) and leptin receptor ( LEPR ) polymorphisms for the susceptibility to obesity among different ethnic subjects. The main purpose of this work is to evaluate the association of these polymorph\isms with obesity among Egyptian subjects.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This case-control study was carried out on 110 unrelated obese Egyptian subjects who were compared with 122 controls. Their genomic DNA was genotyped using the PCR technique.

RESULTS: The allelic frequencies of FTO rs9939609 (A) and LEPR rs1137101 (223R) were significantly higher in obese subjects compared with non-obese controls ( p < .001). Comparing different phenotype frequencies including clinical, anthropometric, and biochemical parameters in obese subjects revealed no significant difference in relation to their genotype frequencies ( p > .05).

CONCLUSIONS: This study designates a strong association for FTO and LEPR variants with the risk of obesity among Egyptian subjects.