Background and purpose: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the major reason for abnormal liver function and is associated with obesity. Omentin (ITLN1) gene is highly expressed in visceral adipose tissue. The plasma omentin level is inversely correlated with obesity and serum omentin is elevated in patients with fatty liver diseases. This study investigated the association between Val109Asp polymorphism in omentin gene and susceptibility to NAFLD.

Materials and methods: This case-control study was carried out in 94 patients with NAFLD (45 women aged 20-83 and 49 men aged 21-66) and 188 healthy participants (90 women aged 19-81 and 98 men aged 20-65). Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples. The omentin gene Val109Asp polymorphism was determined using PCR-RFLP method. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between omentin gene Val109Asp polymorphism and susceptibility to NAFLD.

Results: In control and NAFLD groups the frequencies of Asp allele were 0.77 and 0.67 and Val allele frequencies were 23% and 33%, respectively. Significant association was found between Val allele and susceptibility to NAFLD (OR: 1.6, 95%CI: 1.1-2.4, P= 0.01). Also, the results showed that Asp/Val genotype is associated with increased risk of NAFLD (OR: 2.07, 95%CI: 1.2-3.5, P= 0.005).

Conclusion: Omentin gene Val109Asp polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to NAFLD.