Genetic Variations in <em>ADIPOQ</em> Gene Are Associated with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Adiponectin is reported to be related to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Genetic variants in the gene encoding adiponectin (<em>ADIPOQ</em>) have been reported to be associated with adiponectin level in several genome–wide linkage and association studies. However, relatively little is known about the effects of <em>ADIPOQ</em> gene variants on COPD susceptibility. We determined the frequencies of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in <em>ADIPOQ</em> in a Chinese Han population and their possible association with COPD susceptibility.</p> <h3>Methods</h3><p>We conducted a case–control study of 279 COPD patients and 367 age- and gender-distribution-matched control subjects. Seven tagging SNPs in <em>ADIPOQ</em>, including rs710445, rs16861205, rs822396, rs7627128, rs1501299, rs3821799 and rs1063537 were genotyped by SNaPshot. Association analysis of genotypes/alleles and haplotypes constructed from these loci with COPD was conducted under different genetic models.</p> <h3>Results</h3><p>The alleles or genotypes of rs1501299 distributed significantly differently in COPD patients and controls (allele: <em>P</em> = 0.002, OR = 1.43 and 95%CI = 1.14–1.79; genotype: <em>P</em> = 0.008). The allele A at rs1501299 was potentially associated with an increased risk of COPD in all dominant model analysis (<em>P</em> = 0.009; OR: 1.54; 95%CI: 1.11–2.13), recessive model analyses (<em>P</em> = 0.015; OR: 1.75; 95% CI: 1.11–2.75) and additive model analyses (<em>P</em> = 0.003; OR: 2.11; 95% CI: 1.29–3.47). In haplotype analysis, we observed haplotypes AAAAACT and GGACCTC had protective effects, while haplotypes AGAACTC, AGGCCTC, GGAACTC, GGACACT and GGGCCTC were significantly associated with the increased risk of COPD.</p> <h3>Conclusions</h3><p>We conducted the first investigation of the association between the SNPs in <em>ADIPOQ</em> and COPD risk. Our current findings suggest that <em>ADIPOQ</em> may be a potential risk gene for COPD. Further studies in larger groups are warranted to confirm our results.</p>