The relation between two polymorphisms in the glucocorticoid receptor gene and body mass index, blood pressure and cholesterol in obese patients.
OBJECTIVE
We have recently reported that, in healthy elderly Dutch individuals, a N363S polymorphism in the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) gene is associated with higher sensitivity to low-dose dexamethasone (0.25 mg), evaluated as both cortisol suppression and insulin response, and with an increased body mass index (BMI). In the present study we investigated the role of the N363S polymorphism, and a BclI restriction site polymorphism in a group of Italian patients with severe obesity.


METHODS
Two hundred and seventy-nine patients (mean BMI 45.9 +/- 0.9 kg/m2) were genotyped using both PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and Taqman Sequence Detection System. Determination of several metabolic and antropometric parameters was also performed in order to correlate them to the genotype.


RESULTS
In this group of obese patients, 13 subjects (eight female, five males) were heterozygous for the N363S variant (allelic frequency 2.3%) and had significantly higher BMI (P < 0.04), resting energy expenditure (P < 0.03) and food intake (P < 0.01) when compared to wild-type homozygotes. When the data were analysed according to sex, female heterozygotes for the N363S allele had significantly higher BMI (P = 0.04), resting energy expenditure (P = 0.03) and food intake (P = 0.008) than obese women with the wild-type 363 GR gene. Male carriers of this variant also had higher values for these variables although the differences did not reach statistical significance. A case-control study with homozygous wild-type obese subjects which were age-, sex- and BMI-matched, revealed no difference in resting energy expenditure and food intake. The allele frequency of the BclI variant was 27% (89 females and 41 males out of 269 subjects). No differences in anthropometric and metabolic parameters were found between subjects heterozygous or homozygous for this variant GR in this obese population. However, when we studied the effect of the presence of the BclI polymorphism and the N363S variant in the same individual, we found that the subjects who carried both polymorphisms had a tendency towards higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure and significantly higher total and LDL-cholesterol levels (P = 0.005 and P = 0.05, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Taking the results of this study and those obtained in the Dutch population, we speculate that heterozygous carriers of the N363S variant who develop obesity, may become even more obese, possibly because they have a hypersensitive insulin response and thus, via activation of lipogenesis, store fat more efficiently. Furthermore, these data suggest that N363S carriers who carry the BclI polymorphism as well, tend to have a slightly unfavourable cardiovascular profile.
Di Blasio
Anna Maria
AM
Molecular Biology Laboratory, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Verbania, and Department of Food Science and Microbiology, University of Milano, Italy.
van Rossum
Elisabeth F C
EF
Maestrini
Sabrina
S
Berselli
Maria Elisa
ME
Tagliaferri
Mariantonella
M
Podestà
Francesca
F
Koper
Jan W
JW
Liuzzi
Antonio
A
Lamberts
Steven W J
SW
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000235:genetics; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D004435:Eating; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D019940:Genes, bcl-1; D005838:Genotype; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid / Q000235:genetics*; D012737:Sex Factors
D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid; D002784:Cholesterol