Association of leptin gene A19G and G-2548A polymorphisms with obesity and overweight in an Iranian young population

Background and Objective: Obesity is the result of increasing general or localized fat in the body that is measured by the body mass index (BMI). If body mass index is equal to or more than 25 kg / m², the person is overweight. With the increase in overweight and obesity in today s society, the study in this regard is particularly important. Many years ago scientists tended to discover a substance that could control and cure this phenomenon biologically, until 1994 a researcher named Friedman Jeffery discovered a hormone produced from ob gene in America and named it leptin taken from the Greek word Leptos, meaning thin.Materials and methods: Genomic DNA from peripheral blood samples of 120 normal subjects and 120 overweight individuals (BMI> 25kg / m²) with an average age of 24 years of Zanjan Islamic Azad University students were taken with consent. Genetic studies were conducted in three stages: 1- Extraction, 2-PCR-RFLP and 3- Electrophoresis. The data s were analyzed in SPSS software.Results: Statistical analysis of data on A19G polymorphism of leptin gene showed a significant relationship between GG genotype with obesity and overweight (p = 0.023). Significant relationship between G-2548A polymorphisms with increasing BMI and obesity was not observed (p = 0.436).Conclusion: This study showed that A19G polymorphisms of leptin gene could be linked with susceptibility to obesity and overweight in the study population, which may be due to a decrease in leptin mRNA translation. Determining individuals genotype due to lack of leptin or reducing its amount may prevent or treat obesity with the administration of leptin.

Keywords:

Obesity , BMI , polymorphism , leptin