Abstract
Background and aims: The APOA5 gene is one of the genes involved in metabolic syndrome (MetS), as a constellation of several cardiovascular
disease (CVD) risk factors. The present study evaluated the possible associations between five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in
the microRNA target site (miR-TS-SNPs) of the APOA5 gene with MetS.
Methods: This case-control study included 57 MetS cases, along with 59 normal children and adolescents aged 9-18 years. All miR-TSSNPs rs188133936, rs72525532, rs45596738, rs148759216, and rs114627122 were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-sequencing.
Independent t-test, as well as the chi-square test and logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association of SNPs with MetS
risk and its clinical components.
Results: The mean (SD) age of MetS participants and controls was 12.35 (0.25) and 13.39 (0.38) years, respectively. Although no nucleotide
changes were present in rs188133936, rs45596738, rs148759216, and rs114627122, a greater frequency of A insertion was detected in
rs72525532 in MetS cases compared with the control group (P=0.012). This variant showed a significant difference in triglycerides (TG)
and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) levels between different genotype groups (P<0.0001 and P=0.05, respectively) in controls.
Furthermore, AA insertion genotype was correlated with an increased risk of MetS (Odds ratio [95% CI] = 8.12 [0.966-68.27], P=0.05).
Conclusion: This study was the first to investigate the association between rs188133936, rs45596738, rs148759216, rs76463524, and
rs72525532 variants of the APOA5 gene and MetS. Our findings reveal that rs72525532 might have an impact on TG, HDL levels, and
the risk of MetS