IL‐17A, MCP‐1, CCR‐2, and ABCA1 polymorphisms in children with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease

Abstract

ObjectiveThe prevalence of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease in children has risen significantly, owing to the worldwide childhood obesity epidemic in the last two decades. Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease is closely linked to sedentary lifestyle, increased body mass index, and visceral adiposity. In addition, individual genetic variations also have a role in the development and progression of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the gene polymorphisms of MCP‐1 (‐2518 A/G) (rs1024611), CCR‐2 (190 G/A) (rs1799864), ABCA1 (883 G/A) (rs4149313), and IL‐17A (‐197 G/A) (rs2275913) in obese Turkish children with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease. MethodsThe study recruited 186 obese children aged 10-17 years, including 101 children with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease and 85 children without non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease. Anthropometric measurements, insulin resistance, a liver panel, a lipid profile, liver ultrasound examination, and genotyping of the four variants were performed. ResultsNo difference was found between the groups in respect to age and gender, body mass index, waist/hip ratio, or body fat ratio. In addition to the elevated ALT levels, AST and GGT levels were found significantly higher in the non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease group compared to the non non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease group (p<0.05). The A‐allele of IL‐17A (‐197 G/A) (rs2275913) was associated with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (odds ratio [OR] 2.05, 95% confidence interval: 1.12‐3.77, p=0.02). ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that there may be an association between IL‐17A (‐197 G/A) (rs2275913) polymorphism and non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease development in obese Turkish children.