FTO (Fat Mass and Obesity-Associated) rs9939609 gene polymorphism and obesity: lack of association in kidney transplantation.

The fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene is one of the most important obesitysusceptibility genes. Some FTO gene polymorphisms have been associated with obesity,diabetes, and hypertension, all conditions for which, after transplant, there is increasedsusceptibility, due to effects of immunosuppressive regimens. To evaluate whether FTOcould be a candidate for targeted preventive intervention in the transplant setting, weinvestigated whether the common genetic variation, FTO rs9939609T>A, could affectweight gain and risk of cardiovascular complications in kidney transplantation.Methods. In 198 kidney transplant recipients, FTO rs9939609 was investigated in associationwith body mass index (BMI)/obesity and with other clinical markers of posttransplantrisk, then monitored up to 5 years after transplantation. Genotyping was performed using anallelic discrimination method on a real-time polymerase chain (PCR) system. Associationswere analyzed using the chi-square test; differences between genotypes were examinedwith analysis of variance or Kruskal-Wallis test; tests for repeated measures and a generallinear model analysis controlling for age and gender were also utilized.Results. Allele and genotype frequencies of FTO rs9939609 in recipients (T/T, 29.8%;T/A, 49.0%; A/A, 21.2%; A, 45.7%; T, 54.3%) reflect those present in healthy Caucasianpopulations. In the face of pre-/posttransplant differences in total cholesterol, triglycerides,or fasting glucose, results did not show significant changes in these factors among genotypeseither before or after transplantation.Conclusion. This study highlights a lack of association of FTO rs9939609T>A genotypesand posttransplant weight gain, plasma lipids, and fasting blood glucose in kidneytransplantation.