The 148 M allele of the PNPLA3 is associated with plasma irisin levels in a population sample of Caucasian children: The PANIC Study.

BACKGROUND: There are no previous data on the association of PNPLA3 I148M polymorphism (rs738409) with circulating adipokines and myokines in children.

SUBJECTS/METHODS: Subjects were a population sample of 481 Caucasian children aged 6-8 years. We assessed circulating levels of irisin together with IL-6, TNF-α, leptin, high molecular weight (HMW)-adiponectin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) while the subjects were stratified according to PNPLA3 I148M variants.

RESULTS: The PNPLA3 rs738409 polymorphism had a linear relationship with plasma levels of irisin after adjustment for age, sex and body height (p=0.007) but it was not associated with circulating levels of interleukin- 6 (IL-6), tumor-necrosis factor α (TNF-α), leptin or HMW-adiponectin.

CONCLUSION: PNPLA3 148M allele carriers had higher plasma levels of irisin than the non-carriers. This might be due to compensatory mechanism to limit early steatotic and inflammatory changes in the liver.