Impact of UCP2 -866G/A Variant on Smoking Risk

Abstract

Objective:Mitochondria are multifunctional and dynamic organelles found in cells. Nicotine is a natural alkaloid found in the tobacco plant and has been well studied as a component of cigarette smoke. It has also been reported to affect mitochondrial function both in vitro and in vivo. Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) reduces generation of ROS by mitochondria. Our purpose in this study was to investigate whether the -866G/A variant of the UCP2 gene is associated with smoking status.Methods:A total of 238 individuals consisting of 138 smokers and 100 healthy controls were examined. The UCP2-866G/A variant was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method.Results:The proportion of individuals carrying the three possible genotype was significantly different between the smoker and healthy control groups. The UCP2-866G/A variant GG genotype was associated significantly with an increased risk of smoking (p=0.001) while AA genotype was associated significantly with a decreased risk of smoking (p=0.001). The UCP2-866G/A variant G allele was found to be increased in the smoker group compared to the healthy controls (p=0.001).Conclusion:Our data suggest that the UCP2-866 G/A variant GG genotype and G allele might reflect the risk of smoking status in a Turkish population.

Keywords

• smoking status
• ucp2
• variant
• pcr-rflp