[Association between sequence variation of Furin gene and obesity in ethnic Kazakh from Xinjiang].

Objective: To assess the association between sequence variation of Furin gene and obesity in ethnic Kazakh population in Xinjiang region.

Methods: Based on a cross-sectional epidemiological study, a case-control study was conducted. All sequence variants located promoter and exon regions of Furin gene were identified with direct sequencing of PCR products from 66 randomly chosen obese individuals (33 males and 33 females). Polymorphisms representative of a general ethnic Kazakh population (856 subjects, including 364 males and 492 females, 478 from obesity group and 378 from control group) were determined by TaqMan PCR, the association between sequence variation of Furin gene and obesity was assessed.

Results: Twelve sequence variations in Furin gene were identified through sequencing of 66 obese individuals. And 4 common SNPs (rs6226, rs6227, rs2071410 and rs4932178) were selected as representative polymorphisms for the general Kazakh population. Above polymorphisms were successfully typed in all subjects. Distribution of the genotypes, alleles, and haplotypes formed by such polymorphisms did not differ significantly between the case and control groups or males and females (P>0.05). The waist circumference also did not differ significantly among individuals with different genotypes (P>0.05).

Conclusion: Genetic variations of Furin gene are not associated with obesity in Kazakh general population.