Metabolic Health in Obese Subjects—Is There a Link to Lactoferrin and Lactoferrin Receptor-Related Gene Polymorphisms?

This study aimed to evaluate the association of genetic variants in lactoferrin (LTF) metabolism-related genes with the prevalence of metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) and metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUHO). In total, 161 MHO and 291 MUHO subjects were recruited to the study. The following polymorphisms were genotyped: low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP) 2 rs2544390, LRP1 rs4759277, LRP1 rs1799986, LTF rs1126477, LTF rs2239692 and LTF rs1126478. We found significant differences in the genotype frequencies of LTF rs2239692 between MHO and MUHO subjects, with the CT variant associated with lower odds of developing metabolic syndrome than the TT variant. In the total population, significant differences in body weight and waist circumference (WC) were identified between LTF rs1126477 gene variants. A similar association with WC was observed in MUHO subjects, while significant differences in body mass index and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were discovered between LTF rs1126477 gene variants in MHO subjects. Besides, there were significant differences in diastolic blood pressure between LRP1 rs1799986 gene variants in MUHO subjects, as well as in WC and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels between LRP1 rs4759277 gene variants in MHO subjects. In conclusion, selected lactoferrin and lactoferrin receptor-related gene variants may be associated with the prevalence of metabolically healthy or metabolically unhealthy obesity.