Abstract 22: Influence of Smoking and Sex on Genetic Associations of Body Fat Distribution: The Giant (Genetic Investigation of ANthropometric Traits) Consortium

Circulation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 129 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin L Young ◽  
David Hadley ◽  
Anne Justice ◽  
Thomas Winkler ◽  
Misa Graff ◽  
...  

Visceral fat and smoking are important risk factors for CVD and other long-term poor health outcomes. Central adiposity is frequently assessed in population studies using waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI (WHRadjBMI). Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have discovered loci that influence WHRadjBMI, sometimes with sex-specific effects. However, we do not know whether and how smoking behavior influences the association between genetic variants and WHRadjBMI. Our study investigates the influence of smoking and genetic variants on WHRadjBMI, with particular consideration for differential effects by sex. Forty-one GIANT GWAS (108,397 participants) were used to investigate the influence of smoking on SNP WHRadjBMI associations using sex-stratified models considering SNP main effects adjusted for smoking status, and SNP main effects stratified by smoking status. Results from each study were meta-analyzed using an inverse-variance weighted fixed-effects model for men and women separately as well as combined. A total of 19 SNPs reached genome-wide significance (p<5x10-8) having adjusted the SNP effect for smoking across strata (women, men, and combined), including 11 previously reported WHRadjBMI loci. For known WHRadjBMI loci, the influence of smoking varied by sex. In women, four known WHRadjBMI SNPs (TBX15, DNM3, RSPO3, and ADAMTS9) had a greater effect in smokers vs. nonsmokers (TBX15: β(SE) = 0.0506 (0.014), p = 3.84x10-4) vs. β(SE) = 0.0382 (0.0072), p = 1.14x10-7). Three of these (TBX15, DNM3, RSPO3) have been previously associated with tobacco use disorder (TUD). In men, three known WHRadjBMI loci (ADAMTS9, DNM3, ZNRF3) had a greater effect among smokers vs nonsmokers (ZNRF3: β(SE) = 0.0365 (0.0148), p = 1.37x10-2) vs β(SE) = 0.0192 (0.0088), p = 12.87x10-2). Eight of our 19 top SNPs have not been previously associated with WHRadjBMI (within 500 kb). Of these eight loci, distinct patterns of association by smoking and sex were again noted. In addition, one locus (ABCA1) has been previously associated with TUD. In addition to identifying novel loci associated with body fat distribution, these findings underscore the importance of considering the effect of smoking when investigating the genetics of obesity related phenotypes and emphasize the need to consider sex separately when studying the effects of smoking on body fat distribution.

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara L Pulit ◽  
Charli Stoneman ◽  
Andrew P Morris ◽  
Andrew R Wood ◽  
Craig A Glastonbury ◽  
...  

Abstract More than one in three adults worldwide is either overweight or obese. Epidemiological studies indicate that the location and distribution of excess fat, rather than general adiposity, are more informative for predicting risk of obesity sequelae, including cardiometabolic disease and cancer. We performed a genome-wide association study meta-analysis of body fat distribution, measured by waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) adjusted for body mass index (WHRadjBMI), and identified 463 signals in 346 loci. Heritability and variant effects were generally stronger in women than men, and we found approximately one-third of all signals to be sexually dimorphic. The 5% of individuals carrying the most WHRadjBMI-increasing alleles were 1.62 times more likely than the bottom 5% to have a WHR above the thresholds used for metabolic syndrome. These data, made publicly available, will inform the biology of body fat distribution and its relationship with disease.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathias Rask-Andersen ◽  
Torgny Karlsson ◽  
Weronica E Ek ◽  
Åsa Johansson

Body mass and body fat composition are of clinical interest due to their links to cardiovascular- and metabolic diseases. Fat stored in the trunk has been suggested as more pathogenic compared to fat stored in other compartments of the body. In this study, we performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for the proportion of body fat distributed to the arms, legs and trunk estimated from segmental bio-electrical impedance analysis (sBIA) for 362,499 individuals from the UK Biobank. A total of 97 loci, were identified to be associated with body fat distribution, 40 of which have not previously been associated with an anthropometric trait. A high degree of sex-heterogeneity was observed and associations were primarily observed in females, particularly for distribution of fat to the legs or trunk. Our findings also implicate that body fat distribution in females involves mesenchyme derived tissues and cell types, female endocrine tissues a well as several enzymatically active members of the ADAMTS family of metalloproteinases, which are involved in extracellular matrix maintenance and remodeling.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara L. Pulit ◽  
Charli Stoneman ◽  
Andrew P. Morris ◽  
Andrew R. Wood ◽  
Craig A. Glastonbury ◽  
...  

AbstractOne in four adults worldwide are either overweight or obese. Epidemiological studies indicate that the location and distribution of excess fat, rather than general adiposity, is most informative for predicting risk of obesity sequellae, including cardiometabolic disease and cancer. We performed a genome-wide association study meta-analysis of body fat distribution, measured by waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI (WHRadjBMI), and identified 463 signals in 346 loci. Heritability and variant effects were generally stronger in women than men, and we found approximately one-third of all signals to be sexually dimorphic. The 5% of individuals carrying the most WHRadjBMI-increasing alleles were 1.62 times more likely than the bottom 5% to have a WHR above the thresholds used for metabolic syndrome. These data, made publicly available, will inform the biology of body fat distribution and its relationship with disease.


Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 841
Author(s):  
Chang Sun ◽  
Peter Kovacs ◽  
Esther Guiu-Jurado

Preferential fat accumulation in visceral vs. subcutaneous depots makes obese individuals more prone to metabolic complications. Body fat distribution (FD) is regulated by genetics. FD patterns vary across ethnic groups independent of obesity. Asians have more and Africans have less visceral fat compared with Europeans. Consequently, Asians tend to be more susceptible to type 2 diabetes even with lower BMIs when compared with Europeans. To date, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 460 loci related to FD traits. However, the majority of these data were generated in European populations. In this review, we aimed to summarize recent advances in FD genetics with a focus on comparisons between European and non-European populations (Asians and Africans). We therefore not only compared FD-related susceptibility loci identified in three ethnicities but also discussed whether known genetic variants might explain the FD pattern heterogeneity across different ancestries. Moreover, we describe several novel candidate genes potentially regulating FD, including NID2, HECTD4 and GNAS, identified in studies with Asian populations. It is of note that in agreement with current knowledge, most of the proposed FD candidate genes found in Asians belong to the group of developmental genes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye-Won Cho ◽  
Hyun-Seok Jin ◽  
Yong-Bin Eom

Most previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified genetic variants associated with anthropometric traits. However, most of the evidence were reported in European populations. Anthropometric traits such as height and body fat distribution are significantly affected by gender and genetic factors. Here we performed GWAS involving 64,193 Koreans to identify the genetic factors associated with anthropometric phenotypes including height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio. We found nine novel single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 59 independent genetic signals in genomic regions that were reported previously. Of the 19 SNPs reported previously, eight genetic variants at RP11-513I15.6 and one genetic variant at the RP11-977G19.10 region and six Asian-specific genetic variants were newly found. We compared our findings with those of previous studies in other populations. Five overlapping genetic regions (PAN2, ANKRD52, RNF41, HGMA1, and C6orf106) had been reported previously but none of the SNPs were independently identified in the current study. Seven of the nine newly found novel loci associated with height in women revealed a statistically significant skeletal expression of quantitative trait loci. Our study provides additional insight into the genetic effects of anthropometric phenotypes in East Asians.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agné Kulyté ◽  
Veroniqa Lundbäck ◽  
Peter Arner ◽  
Rona J. Strawbridge ◽  
Ingrid Dahlman

Abstract Background. Total body fat and central fat distribution are heritable traits and well-established predictors of adverse metabolic outcomes. Lipolysis is the process responsible for the hydrolysis of triacylglycerols stored in adipocytes. To increase our understanding of the genetic regulation of body fat distribution and total body fat, we set out to determine if genetic variants associated with body mass index (BMI) or waist-hip-ratio adjusted for BMI (WHRadjBMI) in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) mediate their effect by influencing adipocyte lipolysis.Methods. We utilized data from the recent GWAS of spontaneous and isoprenaline-stimulated lipolysis in the unique GENetics of Adipocyte Lipolysis (GENiAL) cohort. GENiAL consists of 939 participants who have undergone abdominal subcutaneous adipose biopsy for the determination of spontaneous and isoprenaline-stimulated lipolysis in adipocytes. Results. We report 11 BMI and 15 WHRadjBMI loci with SNPs displaying nominal association with lipolysis and allele-dependent gene expression in adipose tissue according to in silico analysis. Functional evaluation of candidate genes in these loci by small interfering RNAs (siRNA)-mediated knock-down in adipose-derived stem cells identified ZNF436 and NUP85 as intrinsic regulators of lipolysis consistent with the associations observed in the clinical cohorts. Furthermore, candidate genes in another BMI-locus (STX17) and two more WHRadjBMI loci (NID2, GGA3, GRB2) control lipolysis alone, or in conjunction with lipid storage, and may hereby be involved in genetic control of body fat.Conclusions. The findings expand our understanding of how genetic variants mediate their impact on the complex traits of fat storage and distribution.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masanobu Fujimoto ◽  
Eric Bartell ◽  
Jane C Khoury ◽  
Philip R Khoury ◽  
Sailaja Vedantam ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified thousands of common genetic variants associated with human height, implicating hundreds of genes and loci. However, the mechanisms by which many of these genetic variants contribute to human adult height are still unknown. Integrating knowledge of the interaction between genetic background and protein levels in childhood can provide insights into the biology of human growth. Objective: To investigate biological associations at height-associated loci in the GH-IGF signaling pathway. Methods: We used data from the Cincinnati Genomic Control Cohort, a community-based cohort comprised of 1,020 children. The study was approved by the institutional review board at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Protein levels for free and total IGF-I, intact and total IGFBP-3, PAPP-A2, IGF-II, and IGFBP-5 were measured by ELISA in 839 children (ages 3-18 years) and corrected for age- and sex-effects. We associated protein-level phenotypes using plink qassoc and stratified by sex and population, in ~870 European- and African-descent individuals. Meta-analyses were performed using the METAL fixed-effects model. GWAS of anthropometric traits were performed in the UK Biobank of ~400,000 individuals using Bolt-LMM, or curated from publicly available summary statistics. Results: We identified 17 independent genome-wide significant protein-level-associated loci (p&lt;5x10-8). The most robust associations were previously identified expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs). The IGFBP3 locus was associated with serum total IGFBP3 and IGF-II levels. Despite falling within a height locus, conditional analyses showed that the effect on IGFBP-3 protein levels was independent of the height signal (p=2.8e-31, post conditioning). However, conditional analyses showed that the protein level signal colocalizes with a known GWAS signal for sitting height ratio (SHR). The IGFBP5 locus was associated with IGFBP-5 protein levels and was also independent of height signals identified in the region (p=3.3e-32, post conditioning). Conclusions: We have identified novel pQTLs for IGF2, IGFBP3, and IGFBP5 that act independently from genetic signals in the same regions associated with adult height but may interact with related anthropometric traits including SHR. Additionally, this suggests that SNPs affecting adult height in these loci do not work via increasing serum levels of these proteins but rather through a different and undetermined mechanism.


2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara L. Pulit ◽  
Tugce Karaderi ◽  
Cecilia M. Lindgren

Obesity is a chronic condition associated with increased morbidity and mortality and is a risk factor for a number of other diseases including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Obesity confers an enormous, costly burden on both individuals and public health more broadly. Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes. Body fat distribution is distinct from overall obesity in measurement, but studies of body fat distribution can yield insights into the risk factors for and causes of overall obesity. Sexual dimorphism in body fat distribution is present throughout life. Though sexual dimorphism is subtle in early stages of life, it is attenuated in puberty and during menopause. This phenomenon could be, at least in part, due to the influence of sex hormones on the trait. Findings from recent large genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for various measures of body fat distribution (including waist-to-hip ratio, hip or waist circumference, trunk fat percentage and the ratio of android and gynoid fat percentage) emphasize the strong sexual dimorphism in the genetic regulation of fat distribution traits. Importantly, sexual dimorphism is not observed for overall obesity (as assessed by body mass index or total fat percentage). Notably, the genetic loci associated with body fat distribution, which show sexual dimorphism, are located near genes that are expressed in adipose tissues and/or adipose cells. Considering the epidemiological and genetic evidence, sexual dimorphism is a prominent feature of body fat distribution. Research that specifically focuses on sexual dimorphism in fat distribution can provide novel insights into human physiology and into the development of obesity and its comorbidities, as well as yield biological clues that will aid in the improvement of disease prevention and treatment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (34) ◽  
pp. 6207-6221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Innocenzo Rainero ◽  
Alessandro Vacca ◽  
Flora Govone ◽  
Annalisa Gai ◽  
Lorenzo Pinessi ◽  
...  

Migraine is a common, chronic neurovascular disorder caused by a complex interaction between genetic and environmental risk factors. In the last two decades, molecular genetics of migraine have been intensively investigated. In a few cases, migraine is transmitted as a monogenic disorder, and the disease phenotype cosegregates with mutations in different genes like CACNA1A, ATP1A2, SCN1A, KCNK18, and NOTCH3. In the common forms of migraine, candidate genes as well as genome-wide association studies have shown that a large number of genetic variants may increase the risk of developing migraine. At present, few studies investigated the genotype-phenotype correlation in patients with migraine. The purpose of this review was to discuss recent studies investigating the relationship between different genetic variants and the clinical characteristics of migraine. Analysis of genotype-phenotype correlations in migraineurs is complicated by several confounding factors and, to date, only polymorphisms of the MTHFR gene have been shown to have an effect on migraine phenotype. Additional genomic studies and network analyses are needed to clarify the complex pathways underlying migraine and its clinical phenotypes.


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