Genetic Variation in Leptin Receptor Gene in Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Obese Subjects from Erbil City

There have been numerous genetic causes of obesity specifically leptin, genetic variants of the leptin receptor gene (LEPR Gln223Arg) which appeared to be polymorphismized (A>G; rs1137101) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of obesity in several populations, although no association has been evidenced in other regions in the world. In this study, the association between LEPR Gln223Arg polymorphism with Body Mass Index (BMI) and plasma leptin levels in obese diabetic and obese non-diabetic adults who are randomly selected from Erbil city is evaluated. Blood samples were collected for DNA extraction, and plasma leptin measurements. LEPR (A > G; rs1137101) genotypes were identified by a PCR- RFLP. The results show that plasma leptin concentrations increased with body mass index, and in obese diabetic group was more than two-fold increases p=0.001 when compared to those of obese non-diabetic patients. LEPR (A > G; rs1137101) gene polymorphisms did not found associated with BMI in the whole studied population. Furthermore an increased frequency of the GG genotype in the female control group 32.1 compared to obese group 19.2, but the frequency did not significant (OR= 1.38: 95% CI; 0.74-2.03, P=0.07 ) which indicated that this genotype might be associated with a protective effect against obesity in female only and that this effect was independent of diabetes. Further analysis of a larger population is required to confirm the biological relevance of this polymorphism for obesity in the Kurdish population.