Association of hepatic lipase gene polymorphisms with hypertriglyceridemia and low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels among South Indian subjects without diabetes.

AIM

The aim of this study was to investigate the association of four variants of the hepatic lipase (HL [or LIPC]) gene with various lipid parameters among South Indian subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT).

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

In total, 747 NGT subjects were randomly selected from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiological Study (CURES). Serum triglycerides, serum cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured using a Hitachi-912 autoanalyzer (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany). Genotyping of HL gene variants was done by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method, and 20% of samples were sequenced to validate the genotypes obtained. Haplotype analysis was also carried out.

RESULTS

The TT genotype of the rs1800588 C/T (C-480T) polymorphism was significantly associated with hypertriglyceridemia, with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.58 (95% confidence interval 1.38-4.85, P=0.003), whereas those with the CC genotype of the rs6074 A/C (Thr479Thr) had significantly lower HDL-C levels (41.3±9.8 mg/dL) compared with the AA genotype (43.6±10.2 mg/dL, P=0.02). Haplotype analysis showed the TGC haplotype was significantly associated with low HDL-C levels.

CONCLUSIONS

Among South Indian subjects without diabetes, the rs1800588 C/T (C-480T) and rs6074 C/A (Thr479Thr) variants of the HL gene are associated with hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL-C, respectively. The TGC haplotype was significantly associated with low HDL-C.