Multiethnic genome-wide meta-analysis of ectopic fat depots identifies loci associated with adipocyte development and differentiation

Authors

Audrey Y. Chu
Xuan Deng
Virginia A. Fisher
Alexander Drong
Yang Zhang
Mary F. Feitosa
Ching-Ti Liu
Olivia Weeks
Audrey C. Choh
Qing Duan
Thomas D. Dyer, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2017

Abstract

Variation in body fat distribution contributes to the metabolic sequelae of obesity. The genetic determinants of body fat distribution are poorly understood. The goal of this study was to gain new insights into the underlying genetics of body fat distribution by conducting sample-size weighted fixed-effects genome-wide association meta-analyses in up to 9,594 women and 8,738 men for six ectopic fat traits in European, African, Hispanic, and Chinese ancestry populations, with and without sex stratification. In total, 7 new loci were identified in association with ectopic fat traits (ATXN1, UBE2E2, EBF1, RREB1, GSDMB, GRAMD3 and ENSA; PATXN1 and UBE2E2 in primary mouse adipose progenitor cells impaired adipocyte differentiation, suggesting a physiological role for ATXN1 and UBE2E2 in adipogenesis. Future studies are necessary to further explore the mechanisms by which these genes impact adipocyte biology and how their perturbations contribute to systemic metabolic disease.

Comments

© 2016, Springer Nature. Original published version available at https://dx.doi.org/10.1038%2Fng.3738

Recommended Citation

Chu, A., Deng, X., Fisher, V. et al. Multiethnic genome-wide meta-analysis of ectopic fat depots identifies loci associated with adipocyte development and differentiation. Nat Genet 49, 125–130 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3738

First Page

125

Last Page

130

Publication Title

Nature Genetics

DOI

10.1038/ng.3738

Academic Level

faculty

Mentor/PI Department

Office of Human Genetics