Association of adipocytokine pathway gene polymorphisms with NAFLD in obese children

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has significant genetic susceptibility. Adipocytokines play a crucial role in NAFLD development by participating in insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis. However, the association between adipocytokine pathway genes and NAFLD remains unclear. This study aims to explore the association of gene polymorphisms in the adipocytokine pathway and their interactions with NAFLD in obese children.

A case-control study was conducted, dividing obese children into NAFLD and control groups. Peripheral venous blood (2 mL) was collected from each participant for DNA extraction. A total of 14 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the adipocytokine pathway were genotyped using multiplex PCR and high-throughput sequencing. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association between SNP and NAFLD in obese children. Dominant models were used to analyze additive and multiplicative interactions via crossover analysis and Logistic regression. Generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR) was used to detect gene-gene interactions among the 14 SNPs and their association with NAFLD in obese children.

A total of 1 022 children were included, with 511 in the NAFLD group and 511 in the control group. After adjusting for age, gender, and BMI, multivariate Logistic regression showed that PPARG rs1801282 was associated with NAFLD in the obese children in 3 genetic models: heterozygote model (CG vs CC, OR=0.58, 95% CI 0.36 to 0.95, P=0.029), dominant model (GG+CG vs CC, OR=0.62, 95% CI 0.38 to 1.00, P=0.049), and overdominant model (CC+GG vs CG, OR=1.72, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.80, P=0.028). PRKAG2 rs12703159 was associated with NAFLD in 4 genetic models: heterozygous model (CT vs CC, OR=1.51, 95% CI 1.10 to 2.07, P=0.011), dominant model (CT+TT vs CC, OR=1.50, 95% CI 1.10 to 2.03, P=0.010), overdominant model (CC+TT vs CT, OR=0.67, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.92, P=0.012), and additive model (CC vs CT vs TT, OR=1.40, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.83, P=0.015). No significant multiplicative or additive interaction between PPARG rs1801282 and PRKAG2 rs12703159 was found in association with NAFLD. GMDR analysis, adjusted for age, gender, and BMI, revealed no statistically significant interactions among the 14 SNPs (all P>0.05).

Mutations in PPARG rs1801282 and PRKAG2 rs12703159 are associated with NAFLD in obese children. However, no gene-gene interactions among the SNP are found to be associated with NAFLD in obese children.