Gender-specific association of a perilipin gene haplotype with obesity risk in a white population.
OBJECTIVE
Perilipin is a class of protein-coating lipid droplets in adipocytes and steroidogenic cells. Our purpose was to examine the association between common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the perilipin (PLIN) locus and obesity, as well as related phenotypes, in unrelated American adults.


METHODS
Four PLIN SNPs (PLIN 6209T>C, 11482G>A, 13041A>G, and 14995A>T) were typed in 734 white subjects (373 men and 361 women) attending a residential lifestyle intervention program. The baseline anthropometric and biochemical measures were used. Obesity was defined as BMI > or = 30 kg/m(2).


RESULTS
Multivariate analysis demonstrated that, in women, two of the SNPs (13041A>G, and 14995A>T) were significantly associated with percentage body fat (p = 0.016 for 13041A>G and p = 0.010 for 14995A>T) and waist circumference (p = 0.020 for 13041A>G and p = 0.045 for 14995A>T). Moreover, haplotype analysis using these two SNPs indicated that haplotypes A/T and G/T were both associated with significantly increased obesity risk (odds ratio = 1.76, 95% confidence interval 1.07 to 2.90 for haplotype A/T, and odds ratio = 1.73, 95% confidence interval 1.06 to 2.82 for haplotype G/T) when compared with haplotype A/A. No significant associations between PLIN variations and obesity were found in men.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data support the hypothesis that the PLIN locus may be a significant genetic determinant for obesity risk in whites and that women are more sensitive to the genetic effects of perilipin than men.
Qi
Lu
L
Nutrition and Genomics Laboratories, Jean Mayer-U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
Shen
Haiqing
H
Larson
Ilona
I
Schaefer
Ernst J
EJ
Greenberg
Andrew S
AS
Tregouet
David A
DA
Corella
Dolores
D
Ordovas
Jose M
JM
D000273:Adipose Tissue; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001823:Body Composition / Q000235:genetics; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D004247:DNA / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics*; D000070778:Perilipin-1; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio; D044465:White People
D002352:Carrier Proteins; D000070778:Perilipin-1; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D004247:DNA