Abstract
Background
Lactoferrin (LTF) could play a beneficial role in insulin resistance and diabetes, but the association of its gene variants with cardio-metabolic disorders in children has not been investigated. This study aimed to examine the relationship between LTF variants, plasma LTF concentrations, and cardio-metabolic risk factors in French-Canadian children.
Methods
The study cohort comprises 1,749 French Canadians aged 9, 13, and 16 years. The association of 13 LTF polymorphisms, metabolic parameters, and plasma LTF levels was tested in this cross-sectional, province-wide school-based survey.
Results
None of the genetic association remained significant after correction for multiple testing and LTF SNPs were not associated with LTF levels. Plasma LTF was positively correlated with body mass index (r2=0.2245, P=0.0011) and weight (r2=0.2515, P=0.0008). After segregating according to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), the association remained only in subjects exhibiting low HDL-C (r2=0.3868, P=0.0002 for body mass index and r2=0.3665, P=0.0004 for weight). In girls, plasma LTF was positively correlated with total cholesterol (r2=0.2231, P=0.0378), LDL cholesterol (r2=0.2409, P=0.0246), and apolipoprotein B (r2=0.2478, P=0.0207).
Conclusions
We found no association between LTF gene variants and metabolic parameters following correction for multiple testing. HDL-C and gender-specific positive associations were evidenced between plasma LTF, anthropometric profile, and lipid levels.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Schohraya Spahis for her technical assistance and acknowledge the assistance of Marie Lambert (deceased) for allowing us to access the QCAHSS cohort.
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This work was supported by grants from the Dairy Farmers of Canada and J.A. de Sève Research Chair in Nutrition (E.L.), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship Award and The Richard and Edith Strauss Postdoctoral Fellowships Award in Medicine, McGill University (V.M.).
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Marcil, V., Mayeur, S., Lamarche, B. et al. Cardiometabolic risk factors and lactoferrin: polymorphisms and plasma levels in French-Canadian children. Pediatr Res 82, 741–748 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/pr.2017.72
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/pr.2017.72
