Functional glucokinase regulator gene variants have inverse effects on triglyceride and glucose levels, and decrease the risk of obesity in children

Abstract

Objective: Recently, the association of the natural variants rs1260326 and rs780094 of the glucokinase regulatory protein (GCKR) gene with increased fasting triglycerides and decreased fasting plasma glucose in diabetic adults was reported; the minor alleles were also found to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. The present study examined the possible associations of these variants with triglycerides and glucose levels, their allele distribution and their possible effects on childhood obesity. Methods and results: A total of 221 obese children and 115 healthy normal-weight children as controls were genotyped using PCR-RFLP methods. Both functional GCKR variants were found in association with elevated serum triglycerides and lower fasting plasma glucose levels. Results of logistic regression revealed that, despite higher triglyceride levels, the carriers of the GCKR variants were more protected against the development of obesity; the adjusted models confirmed the lower risk of obesity for both variants (rs1260326: OR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.25-0.83; rs780094: OR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.23-0.74). Conclusion: Our findings confirm the inverse modulating effect of functional GCKR variants on triglycerides and glucose levels in obese paediatric patients and healthy normal-weight controls. The results of our study strongly suggest that the minor alleles confer protection against the development of obesity in children. The findings also suggest that the minor alleles of functional GCKR may protect against diabetes and the metabolic syndrome in adults. © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS.