title: Melanocortin-4 Receptor Gene Variation Is Associated with Eating Behavior in Chilean Adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the association between allelic variants of melanocortin receptors -3 and -4 (MC3R and MC4R, respectively) and leptin receptor (LEPR) genes with body mass index (BMI) and eating behavior.
  
  
  METHODS
  We selected 344 Chilean adults (57.8% women; age 39.1 ± 6.6 years) with a wide variation in BMI (30.3 ± 6.3 kg/m²). The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18 that measures uncontrolled eating (UE), emotional eating (EE) and cognitive restraint scores was adapted, validated and assessed for association with BMI. Genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism techniques and Taqman assays.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Higher EE scores were found in obese vs. non-obese in both men (p = 0.01) and women (p < 0.001). UE scores were significantly associated with BMI only in women (p = 0.002). No significant differences in eating behavior scores or BMI were found by LEPR (rs1137101, rs8179183 and rs1137100 polymorphisms) or MC3R (rs3746619 and rs3827103). Carriers of the C allele for MC4R rs17782313 showed significantly higher scores of UE compared to non-carriers (2.3 ± 0.8 vs. 2.0 ± 0.7; p = 0.02). Additionally, we also report a monogenic case of obesity carrying the pathogenic mutation 449C>T (Thr150Ile) in MC4R gene with no apparent alterations in eating behavior scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  UE scores were higher in C-allele carriers of MC4R-rs17782313 compared to non-carriers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Diabetes and Metabolism, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Catx00F3;lica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Javier A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Vega
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Salazar
authors.forename: María Isabel
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Hodgson
authors.forename: Luis Rodrigo
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Cataldo
authors.forename: Macarena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valladares
authors.forename: Ana María
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Obregón
authors.forename: José Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Santos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002677:Chile; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D044104:Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 3 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D044105:Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 4 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D054411:Receptors, Leptin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: C515448:LEPR protein, human; C505392:MC3R protein, human; C470072:MC4R protein, human; D044104:Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 3; D044105:Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 4; D054411:Receptors, Leptin