Polymorphisms of TCF7L2 gene in South Brazilian women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a cross-sectional study

ObjectiveTo assess whetherTCF7L2single nucleotide polymorphisms rs7903146 C/T and rs11196236 C/T are associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in South Brazilian women.DesignCross-sectional study.MethodsTwo hundred PCOS patients and 102 non-hirsute, ovulatory controls were genotyped by real-time PCR. Haplotypes were constructed from the combination of both polymorphisms. Frequencies were inferred using the PHASE 2.1.1 software.Results and conclusionsThe distribution of rs7903146 (PCOS, 54.4% CC; 28.5% CT; 17.1% TT; controls, 51.0% CC; 37.0% CT; 12.0% TT) and rs11196236 (PCOS, 4.3% CC; 33.5% CT; 62.2% TT; controls, 3.2% CC; 35.5% CT; 61.3% TT) was similar between the groups. rs7903146 and rs11196236 were not in linkage disequilibrium (|D′|=0.34;r2=0.07). PCOS participants were younger, with higher age-adjusted BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, triglycerides, insulin, homeostasis model assessment index to estimate insulin resistance and total testosterone, and lower HDL-C and sex hormone binding globulin vs controls. In PCOS, no differences between genotypes and haplotypes were found for clinical and metabolic variables. However, for each T (rs7903146) and T (rs11196236) allele added to the haplotypes, a variation of 5.87 cm in waist (Ptrend=0.01), 10.7 mg/dl in total cholesterol (Ptrend=0.03), and 10.3 mg/dl in LDL-C (Ptrend=0.01) was recorded.TCF7L2variants are probably not implicated in PCOS development in South Brazilian women.