Genetic association between glucocorticoid receptor gene Bcl1 rs41423247 and rs6198 polymorphisms and risk of obesity in Egyptian children: By

TL;DR

This study found that a specific genetic variation in the glucocorticoid receptor gene is linked to a higher risk of obesity in Egyptian children.

Contribution

The study identifies a novel genetic association between the GR gene Bcl1 rs41423247 polymorphism and childhood obesity in an Egyptian population.

Findings

Obese children had higher frequencies of CG and GG genotypes and G allele in Bcl1 rs41423247 compared to controls.

Insulin resistance was significantly higher in the CG + GG group of Bcl1 rs41423247.

No significant association was found for NR3C1 rs6198 polymorphism with obesity or insulin resistance.

Abstract

Obesity represents a major global public-health problem during childhood and adolescence. The genetic contribution to obesity and its consequences is well-established. Variation in glucocorticoid (GC)-sensitivity can be partly explained by polymorphisms in GC receptor (GR) gene where NR3C1; Bcl1 rs41423247 and NR3C1 rs6198 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been linked to higher and lower GC sensitivity, respectively. We aimed to explore the potential association between the GR gene SNPs and risk of obesity in a cohort of Egyptian children. We included 100 pre-pubertal children; 60 obese children and 40 age-and sex-matched normal-weight controls. Bcl1 rs41423247 SNP was genotyped using PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique and NR3C1 rs6198 SNP was genotyped using Real-time-PCR.In Bcl1 rs41423247, obese children had more frequent CG, GG genotypes and G allele compared to healthy controls (P = 0.039, 0.019 and 0.007 respectively). Moreover, insulin resistance was significantly higher in combined CG + GG group compared to CC group. On the contrary, no significant differences were found in genotypes, alleles frequencies or insulin resistance between obese and non-obese children in NR3C1 rs6198. GR Bcl1 rs41423247 gene polymorphism may play a role in genetic susceptibility to obesity that can be a future targeted therapy for obesity.

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