Association of BDNF rs11030104 SNP and serum lipid levels in two Chinese ethnic groups

The correlation between the BDNF rs11030104 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and serum lipid levels has been understudied. The present study was conducted to detect the association of the BDNF rs11030104 SNP and several environmental factors with serum lipid levels in the Jing and Han nationalities. Genotypes of the BDNF rs11030104 SNP in 709 unrelated subjects of Han and 706 unrelated participants of Jing populations were determined by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism combined with gel electrophoresis, and further verified by direct sequencing. There was no significant difference in either genotypic or allelic frequencies between the Han and Jing populations. The genotypic and allelic frequencies of the SNP in Jing but not in Han populations were different between male and female subgroups (P<0.05 for each). The levels of serum total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the Jing population were different among the genotypes, the G allele carriers had lower TC and LDL-C levels than the G allele non-carriers. Subgroup analyses showed that the differences in serum TC and LDL-C levels among the genotypes were observed in the Jing males but not in females. Serum lipid profiles were also significantly associated with some environmental factors in the Han and Jing populations, or in male and female subgroups of the two ethnic groups (P< 0.05 for all). Our study exhibited a correlation between the BDNF rs11030104 SNP and serum TC and LDL-C levels in the Jing males. These results indicate that there may be a racial/ethnic-and/or sex-specific association of the BDNF rs11030104 SNP and serum lipid parameters.