The promoter variant -803 G>A in the RBP4 gene is not associated with BMI, metabolic parameters or blood pressure in Caucasian children

Abstract

Objective: Studies in adults identified the -803 G>A promoter polymorphism (rs3758539) in the RBP4 gene (RBP4) as a functional variant conferring an increased risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Methods: We genotyped this polymorphism in a cohort of 304 lean and 283 obese children to assess a potential association with early onset obesity and blood pressure and evaluated the effect of this SNP on metabolic parameters in a smaller subset.

Results: The allele frequency of -803 G>A was similar in obese compared to lean subjects (0.159 vs. 0.191, P=0.318). We did not detect an association of the variant with adiposity parameters nor with parameters of glucose and lipid metabolism or blood pressure in quantitative analyses.

Conclusion: Our study revealed that the promoter polymorphism -803 G>A in RBP4 is not associated with BMI, metabolic parameters or blood pressure in Caucasian children.