Polycystic ovary syndrome is linked with the fat mass obesity (FTO) gene variants rs17817449 and rs1421085 in western Saudi Arabia

Sherin Bakhashab; Asma A Batarfi; Najlaa Filimban; Osama S Bajouh; Ashraf Dallol; Mohammed H Alqahtani

doi:10.6026/97320630017904

Polycystic ovary syndrome is linked with the fat mass obesity (FTO) gene variants rs17817449 and rs1421085 in western Saudi Arabia

Bioinformation. 2021 Nov 30;17(11):904-910. doi: 10.6026/97320630017904. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Sherin Bakhashab^{1

2}, Asma A Batarfi¹, Najlaa Filimban^{2

3}, Osama S Bajouh^{2

4}, Ashraf Dallol^{5

6}, Mohammed H Alqahtani^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Biochemistry Department, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80218, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
² Centre of Innovation in Personalized Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80216, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
³ King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Clinical Genomics, Department of Genetics, P.O. Box 3354, Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80205, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80216, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Center of Excellence in Genomic Medicine Research, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80216, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterised by infertility, obesity, insulin resistance and clinical and/or biochemical signs of hyperandrogenism. Obesity is known to be correlated with PCOS causing ovulatory dysfunction and hormone imbalances. Moreover, fat mass and the obesity gene (FTO) were linked with obesity and PCOS. Therefore, it is of interest to determine the genotype and allele frequency for three FTO variants - rs17817449 (G/T), rs1421085 (C/T) and rs8050136 (A/C) -in western Saudi population. 95 PCOS patients and 94 controls were recruited for this study. The genetic variants were assayed using real-time polymerase chain reaction using TaqMan genotyping assays. The chi-squared test was applied to investigate the difference between single nucleotide polymorphisms on PCOS and control subjects, and binary logistic regression was used to determine the association of FTO variants with PCOS symptoms. Variants rs17817449 and rs1421085 were significantly linked with PCOS susceptibility in the study population. Rs17817449 and rs8050136 were significantly associated with hair loss in the PCOS group. Furthermore, rs1421085 and rs8050136 were associated with a high body mass index (BMI>30 kg/m2). Risk alleles in our population associated with hair loss and elevated BMI in women with PCOS were homozygous C for rs8050136. This data will help in defining the genetic predisposition of PCOS among women in western Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: BMI; FTO; Polycystic ovary syndrome; Single nucleotide polymorphism.