Genotype and allele frequencies of the intestinal fatty acid binding protein-2 gene in two Arab populations

Abstract

Objective: Intestinal fatty acid binding protein (IFAPB) participates in the uptake, intracellular metabolism and/or transport of long chain fatty acids. A polymorphism at codon 54 in exon 2 of FABP2 gene, which encodes for the IFAPB, exchanges an Alanine for Threonine. FABP2 gene polymorphism could modify the uptake of fatty acids, and it could correlate with risk of several diseases. In the light of the potential role of the FABP2 polymorphism, the aim of this study was to determine the frequency of the Ala54Thr FABP2 polymorphism in two Middle Eastern Arab Populations. Materials and Methods: Genotyping was investigated in 182 and 120 unrelated healthy subjects from Bahrain and Jordan, respectively. A PCR-RFLP assay was applied for determination of Ala54Thr (rs1799883) FABP2 polymorphism. Allele frequencies were calculated by direct counting. Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium was evaluated using a Chi- square goodness of fit test. Results: In the studied Bahraini subjects, 52.8% were homozygous for the Ala54/Ala54 genotype, 35.7% were heterozygous for the Ala54/Thr54 genotype and 11.5% were homozygous for the Thr54/Thr54 genotype. The gene frequencies obtained in Jordanians were: 48.3%, 43.3% and 8.4% for Ala54/Ala54; Ala54/Thr54 and Thr54/Thr54 genotypes, respectively. The frequencies of the allele Ala54 and the allele Thr54 of the FABP2 gene were found to be 0.706 and 0.294 for Bahrainis and 0.700 and 0.300 for Jordanians. These results revealed a similar population polymorphism frequency as in previous European and Arab populations' studies. Conclusion: This is the first study to investigate the population frequency of the Thr54 allele in Bahraini and Jordanian populations.