BDNF Val66Met genetic variation and its plasma level in patients with morbid obesity: A case-control study

Obesity is a major public health concern worldwide. Genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors contribute to the multifactorial etiology of obesity. Evidence suggests an association between human Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Val66Met single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and obesity. Reduced plasma BDNF levels have also been reported in patients with eating disorders and obesity. We aimed to evaluate the BDNF Val66Met (rs6265) SNP and also plasma BDNF levels in morbidly obese patients compared with healthy normal controls in southern Iran. One hundred morbidly obese patients and one hundred eight healthy normal controls were enrolled. Blood-derived DNA samples were genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method and confirmed by DNA sequencing. Plasma BDNF levels were evaluated using a commercially available sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit for human BDNF. Data analysis was performed by SPSS software, version 18.0. Genotype distribution was not significantly different between obese patients and controls. However, plasma BDNF levels were significantly lower in obese patients compared with controls. Interestingly, a significant association was found between BDNF Val66Met SNP and plasma BDNF levels. No relationship was observed between BDNF Val66Met SNP and all assessed demographic and clinical characteristics of obese patients. It seems that plasma BDNF levels were associated with both obesity and BDNF Val66Met SNP. However, this association was not found between BDNF Val66Met SNP and obesity. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed for more detailed assessment of this genetic variation as a potential biomarker for obesity.