PPAR alpha gene variants as predicted performance-enhancing polymorphisms in professional Italian soccer players

Background: The PPARα gene encodes the peroxisome proliferator-activator receptor alpha, acentral regulator of expression of other genes involved in fatty acid metabolism. The purpose ofthis study was to determine the prevalence of G allele of the PPARα intron 7 G/C polymorphism(rs4253778) in professional Italian soccer players.Methods: Sixty professional soccer players and 30 sedentary volunteers were enrolled in thestudy. Samples of venous blood were obtained at rest, in the morning, by conventional clinicalprocedures; blood serum was collected and total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol,low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides were measured. An aliquot of anticoagulanttreatedblood was used to prepare genomic DNA from whole blood. The G/C polymorphic sitein PPARα intron 7 was scanned by using the PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain reaction restrictionfragment length polymorphism) protocol with TaqI enzyme.Results: We found variations in genotype distribution of PPARα polymorphism betweenprofessional soccer players and sedentary volunteers. Particularly, G alleles and the GG genotypewere significantly more frequent in soccer players compared with healthy controls (64% versus48%). No significant correlations were found between lipid profile and genotype background.Conclusion: Previous results demonstrated an association of intron 7 G allele as well as theGG genotype in endurance athletes. Our result suggests that this is the case also in professionalsoccer players.