Association of fatty acid binding protein-4 (FABP-4) T87C and rs8192688 gene polymorphisms and FABP-4 level with cardiovascular disease susceptibility in type 2 diabetic patients

Abstract

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is known to cause dyslipidemia and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Fatty acid binding protein (FABP)-4 plays a significant role in various stages of T2DM and CVD. Although it has been demonstrated that genetic variations of the FABP-4 gene can affect insulin sensitivity, the results obtained so far are controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible association between T87C and rs8192688 polymorphisms and serum levels of FABP-4 with CVD susceptibility in T2DM patients. The study included 70 healthy controls, 70 individuals with T2DM, and 70 T2DM patients with CVD. Genomic DNA was extracted, and FABP-4 T87C and rs8192688 gene polymorphic sites were amplified using the ARMS-PCR method. Lipid profile and FABP-4 serum levels were significantly higher in T2DM patients with CVD compared to those with only T2DM (p < 0.05). Additionally, FABP-4 T87C gene polymorphism (TC genotypes) and dominant model (TT vs. TC + CC) were significantly associated with a decreased risk of both T2DM and T2DM with CVD patients (p < 0.05). Patients carrying TC + CC genotypes had significantly lower levels of triglyceride and FABP-4 compared to those carrying the TT genotype (p < 0.05). There was no significant association between FABP-4 rs8192688 polymorphism and either T2DM or CVD disease. It appears that FABP-4 T87C polymorphism decreases FABP-4 levels leading to decreased serum TG levels. Since both T2DM and CVD have inflammatory backgrounds, reducing inflammation can improve insulin sensitivity and lower TG levels in these patients.

Keywords:

• FABP-4
• T2DM
• cardiovascular diseases (CVD)
• gene polymorphism
• inflammation

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all of those with whom I have had the pleasure to work during this and other related projects.

Author contribution

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Amin Bakhtiyari, Salar Bakhtiyari and Siros Norozi. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Maryam Peymani and Karimeh Haghani and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Availability of data and materials

All the necessary data are presented herewith. However if needed, raw data on excel format can be availed on reasonable request from the corresponding author.

Compliance with ethical standards

The authors confirm that the ethical policies of the journal, as noted on the journal’s author guidelines page, have been adhered to and the appropriate ethical review committee approval has been received. Our research was approved by the Iran National Committee for Ethics in Biomedical Research - Islamic Azad University - Shahrekord Branch (Code: IR.IAU.SHK.1399.011). All participants provided informed consent to participate in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Research ethics certificate

Approval ID: IR.IAU.SHK.1399.011

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.