Association of Genetic Variation of the Adiponectin gene with Body Fat Distribution and Carotid Atherosclerosis in Japanese Obese Subjects

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of SNP45 of the adiponectin gene on body fat distribution and carotid atherosclerosis in Japanese obese subjects. METHODS: A total of 64 obese subjects were investigated. Genotypes of SNP45 were assayed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Visceral fat area (VFA) and subcutaneous fat area (SFA) were measured using computed tomography. The progression of atherosclerosis was evaluated by plaque score (PS) of carotid artery using B-mode ultrasonography. RESULTS: Men carrying the G allele of SNP45 showed higher VFA (172.8+/-50.8 vs. 147.1+/-58.7, p=0.005), lower SFA (209.9+/-101.8 vs. 273.4+/-142.2, p=0.007), higher VFA/SFA (V/S) ratio (1.00+/-0.46 vs. 0.60+/-0.26, p <0.001) and higher PS (9.5+/-3.7 vs. 6.8+/-4.2, p=0.012) than those with TT genotype. Multivariate analysis showed that SNP45 was an independent determinant of V/S ratio and PS in men. In subgroup analysis, PS tended to be associated with V/S ratio only in the carrier of 45G allele. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the G allele could be a risk factor of metabolic syndrome and the development of atherosclerosis in Japanese obese subjects.