Association between a single nucleotide polymorphism of obesity related gene FTO and tuberculosis severity

Abstract

Abstract Background. Obesity is recognized to impact cell-mediated immune responses and increase the susceptibility to various diseases. Studies have identified an association between fat mass and obesity-related genes (FTO) and the susceptibility of tuberculosis. We aim to investigate whether FTO polymorphism is linked to the severity of tuberculosis. Methods. We conducted a case-control study, comprising 411 cases of multisystem tuberculosis and 579 cases of mild tuberculosis, admitted to West China Hospital of Sichuan University. Participants, aged 15 to 45 years, underwent whole blood DNA extraction, and multiple SNP typing using SNPscanTM. Three TagSNPs located at loci rs9909, rs16952577 and rs16952730 of the FTO gene were selected for analysis. Results. The minor allele G of rs16952730 demonstrated a significant association with a reduced risk of severe tuberculosis (OR: 0.800, 95% CI: 0.658-0.973; P=0.026). These results remained consistent after adjusting for age and sex (ORa: 0.799, 95% CI: 0.655-0.974; Pa=0.026). The rs16952730 GG genotype showed a significantly lower risk of severe tuberculosis compared to the AA genotype, even after adjusting for age and sex (ORa: 0.596, 95% CI: 0.378-0.941; Pa =0.026). In genetic model analysis, rs16952730 exhibited a significantly reduced risk of severe tuberculosis in additive models before and after adjusting for age and sex (OR: 0.807, 95% CI: 0.666-0.978; P =0.029 and ORa: 0.806, 95% CI: 0.664-0.979; Pa =0.03). However, no significant association was observed between rs9909, rs16952577, and tuberculosis severity. Conclusions. The obesity-related gene FTO is associated with the severity of tuberculosis in the Chinese Han population.