A sequence variation in the mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene is associated with increased plasma glycerol and free fatty acid concentrations among French Canadians

FAD-dependent glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (mG:PD) enzyme is located in the mitochondrial inner membrane where it catalyzes irreversible oxidation reactions. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a multifactorial disorder associated with physiological abnormalities in the glycerol and free fatty acids (FFA) metabolic pathways. In the present study, we have evaluated the association among the mG:PD H264R sequence variation and postabsorptive plasma FFA and glycerol concentrations in a sample of French Canadians with and without type 2 DM, A sample of 81 recently diagnosed type 2 DM and 318 nondiabetic, nonobese, normotriglyceridemic French Canadians were screened for the presence of the mGrPD H264R genetic variant using a PCR-RFLP-based method. The 318 nondiabetic subjects were free of known type 2 DM covariates (fasting glucose <7.0 mmol/L, body mass index <29 kg/m(2), fasting glycerol <2.0 mmol/L and absence of the N288D sequence variation in the glycerol kinase gene, fasting triglyceride <2:5 mmol/L). The association of mGPD H264R sequence variation with plasma FFA and glycerol concentrations was assessed in different regression models. Among non-DM individuals, the R allele (HR and RR genotypes) was associated with increased plasma FFA and glycerol concentrations (P < 0.05). However, the mean plasma FFA and glycerol concentrations were not affected by the H264R genotype in the type 2 DM sample. Overall, mean plasma FFA concentrations in non-DIM RR homozygotes reached values that were similar to those achieved in patients with type 2 diabetes (0.87 +/- 0.63 vs 0.90 +/- 0.48 mmol/L). After controlling for age, gender, body mass index, fasting glucose, and fasting triglyceride concentrations, the relative odds of having fasting plasma FFA levels above the 90th percentile (0.9 mmol/L) in the absence of DM was increased by twofold in H264R heterozygotes (P = 0.04) and fourfold among R264 homozygotes (P = 0.009) compared to noncarriers. In the absence of DRI, the mGPD R allele was also associated with higher plasma glycerol concentrations (P < 0.05). Results in non-DM individuals suggest that the mGPD R allele is associated with DM, intermediate phenotypes. The absence of a relation between mGPD genotype and DM is in accordance with the view that DM is a complex phenotype in which increased plasma FFA or glycerol concentrations result from metabolic alterations which might obscure the effect of the mGrPD polymorphism. (c) 2001 Academic Press.