Association Between LCAT Gene Rs3729639 Polymorphisms With Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Diseasein Chinese Han Population

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)is one of the most common chronic liver disease,which could be divided into several stages such as simple non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,non-alcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH),fibrosis,a few patients could progress to liver cirrhosis or even hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Accumulated studies reported that NAFLD is one of the independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease(CAD),and CAD has already become the most severe cause of death in patients with NAFLD.With the development of genome-wide association study(GWAS),the genomics characteristics of the CAD and NAFLD has been extensive researched.The pathogenesis such as insulin resistance(IR),abnormal lipid metabolism and oxidative stress were observed in the CAD and NAFLD.Lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase(LCAT)promote reverse cholesterol transport(RCT),and catalyze the esterification of free cholesterol in plasma,which is a key enzyme of plasma high density lipoprotein(HDL)and others lipoprotein metabolism.Many studies have found that the gene polymorphisms of LCAT was closely related to the risk of CAD,but few researches were reported on the correlation between the LCAT gene polymorphisms and the development of NAFLD.Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of LCAT gene rs3729639 polymorphism and the relationship with NAFLD in Chinese Han population.Methods:All the subjects were recruited from the Qingdao district,which include181 ultrasonic diagnosed NAFLD patients(case group)and 186 healthy people(control group).Blood samples from all the subjected were collected and analyzed.The LACT rs3729639 polymorphism of case group and control group were determined by the polymerase chain reaction(PCR)and MALDI-TOF MS method.Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium(H-W)method was used to test the represent of the genotype of the two groups.SPSS 24.0 software was used to analysis the difference of the clinical data and laboratory data in the case group and control group.The correlation of LACT genotype distribution and alleles frequency with the lipid metabolism and the risk of NAFLD wereanalyzed.Pearson chi-square test and t test were used for enumeration data and measurement data respectively.The odds ratio(OR)and 95% confidence interval(95%CI)was calculated by the logistic regression analysis.Results:There was a significant difference in BMI,SBP and DBP between NAFLD group and the controls(P < 0.01),no significant difference of gender,age was observed in the two groups(P = 0.184).The levels of ALT?AST?GGT?ALP?FPG?TG?TC?LDL and ALB were higher in NAFLD group than control group(all the P < 0.05),and the levels of HDL in NAFLD group was lower than control group(P < 0.01).There were no significant difference of the genotype and allele frequencies of LCAT rs3729639 between the NAFLD group and control group(P > 0.05).This study revealed an increased risk of NAFLD for LCAT gene rs3729639 T allele compared with C allele(OR= 0.725,95% CI = 0.249~2.112,P > 0.05).Logistic regression analysis indicated that the OR of carriers with the CT genotype of LCAT rs3729639 developing NAFLD were1.387(95%CI: 0.472~4.081,P > 0.05),when compared with the carriers of CC genotype.Conclusion: There is no association between the LCAT rs3729639 polymorphism with the risk of NAFLD in Chinese Han population.