Association of PPARα gene polymorphisms and lipid serum levels in a Brazilian elderly population

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) is a nuclear transcription factor strictly involved in lipid and lipoprotein metabolisms. Thus, PPARα gene polymorphisms have been investigated as cardiovascular risk factors. We aimed to investigate associations of L162V and intron 7G > C polymorphisms with common morbidities affecting a Brazilian elderly cohort as well as with lipid and protein serum levels. Genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), and allele frequencies were determined. In addition, we performed the linkage disequilibrium analysis. Descriptive statistics, logistic regression analysis, and Student's t-test were used. Rare alleles for L162V and intron 7 G > C polymorphisms showed frequencies of 0.047 and 0.199, respectively. Our data showed that these polymorphisms were in linkage disequilibrium (p = 0.0002). Intron 7 G > C polymorphism presented a tendency of association with neoplasia (p = 0.053), and C allele was associated with higher HDL (p = 0.010), lower triglycerides (p = 0.001), and VLDL levels (p = 0.003) compared to G allele. These data might suggest a protective role of intron 7 G > C polymorphism in the development of cardiovascular diseases and will help to clarify the importance of PPARα polymorphisms as key modulators of lipid metabolism in Brazilian population.