Abstract
Genome-wide association studies have shown a strong association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the near vicinity of the TMEM18 gene. The effects of the TMEM18-associated variants are more readily observed in children. TMEM18 encodes a 3TM protein, which locates to the nuclear membrane. The functional context of TMEM18 and the effects of its associated variants are as of yet undetermined. To further explore the effects of near-TMEM18 variants, we have genotyped two TMEM18-associated SNPs, rs6548238 and rs4854344, in a cohort of 2352 Greek children (Healthy Growth Study). Included in this study are data on anthropomorphic traits body weight, BMI z-score and waist circumference. Also included are dietary energy and macronutrient intake as measured via 24-h recall interviews. Major alleles of rs6548238 and rs4854344 were significantly associated with an increased risk of obesity (odds ratio=1.489 (1.161–1.910) and 1.494 (1.165–1.917), respectively), and positively correlated to body weight (P=0.017, P=0.010) and waist circumference (P=0.003, P=0.003). An association to energy and macronutrient intake was not observed in this cohort. We also correlated food intake and body weight in a food choice model in rats to Tmem18 expression in central regions involved in feeding behavior. We observed a strong positive correlation between TMEM18 expression and body weight in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) (r=0.5694, P=0.0003) indicating a potential role for TMEM18 in higher functions related to feeding involving the PFC.
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Acknowledgements
The study was supported by the Swedish Research Council, Brain Research Foundation, Novo Nordisk, Tore Nilsons foundation and Åhlens foundation. RF was supported by the Göran Gustafsson foundation. The SNP genotyping was performed by the SNP Technology Platform, Uppsala, Sweden (http://www.genotyping.se) with support from Uppsala University and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation, and at the Uppsala Genome Centre. We thank the Healthy Growth Study Group for their contribution in this study. The Healthy Growth Study Group consists of (1) Harokopio University Research Team/Department of Nutrition and Dietetics: Yannis Manios (Coordinator), George Moschonis (Project manager), Katerina P Skenderi, Evangelia Grammatikaki, Odysseas Androutsos, Sofia Tanagra, Alexandra Koumpitski, Paraskevi-Eirini Siatitsa, Anastasia Vandorou, Aikaterini-Efstathia Kyriakou, Vasiliki Dede, Maria Kantilafti, Aliki-Eleni Farmaki, Aikaterini Siopi, Sofia Micheli, Louiza Damianidi, Panagiota Margiola, Despoina Gakni, Vasiliki Iatridi, Christina Mavrogianni, Kelaidi Michailidou, Aggeliki Giannopoulou, Efstathoula Argyri, Konstantina Maragkopoulou, Maria Spyridonos, Eirini Tsikalaki, Panagiotis Kliasios, Anthi Naoumi, Konstantinos Koutsikas, Katerina Kondaki, Epistimi Aggelou, Zoi Krommyda, Charitini Aga, Manolis Birbilis, Ioanna Kosteria, Amalia Zlatintsi, Elpida Voutsadaki, Eleni-Zouboulia Papadopoulou, Zoi Papazi, Maria Papadogiorgakaki, Fanouria Chlouveraki, Maria Lyberi, Nora Karatsikaki-Vlami, Eva Dionysopoulou and Efstratia Daskalou. (2) Aristotle University of Thessaloniki/School of Physical Education and Sports Sciences: Vassilis Mougios, Anatoli Petridou, Konstantinos Papaioannou, Georgios Tsalis, Ananis Karagkiozidis, Konstantinos Bougioukas, Afroditi Sakellaropoulou and Georgia Skouli. (3) University of Athens/ Medical School: George P Chrousos, Maria Drakopoulou and Evangelia Charmandari.
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Rask-Andersen, M., Jacobsson, J., Moschonis, G. et al. Association of TMEM18 variants with BMI and waist circumference in children and correlation of mRNA expression in the PFC with body weight in rats. Eur J Hum Genet 20, 192–197 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejhg.2011.176
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejhg.2011.176
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