|
|
||||||||
Original Research Communication |
1 From the Departments of Family Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology (SYSK and NWG) and Human Genetics (CMD and REF), University of Pittsburgh; the Genetic Epidemiology Unit, the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City (CEA); the Department of Nutrition, University of Montreal (ETP); and the Division of Cardiology, the Cincinnati Children's Hospital (SRD).
See corresponding editorial on page 607.
2 Supported by grants R01-HL54886, R01-HL52911, U01-HL48941, and U01-HL489843 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health.
3 Address reprint requests to SYS Kimm, Department of Family Medicine & Clinical Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 3518 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261. E-mail: kimm{at}pitt.edu.
| ABSTRACT |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Objective: We examined variation in REE in relation to variation in UCP1, UCP2, and UCP3 in 141 women aged 1821 y.
Design: Standard methods were used for REE measurements and genetic analysis. Body composition was determined with the use of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Multivariate analysis was used to examine the effect of genotypes on REE and on fat mass in relation to other potentially confounding variables.
Results: REE was 295 kJ/d lower in African American women than in white women. No significant variation in REE was seen for UCP1, UCP2, and UCP3 (p-55; exon 3a; and exon 3b) variants after adjustment for other variables including smoking status. For the UCP3 exon 5 variant, REE was significantly (P = 0.019) lower in African American women with the CC genotype than in those with the TT genotype. In African American women, there was a significant trend (P = 0.012) toward lower REE and a weak but nonsignificant trend (P = 0.1) toward greater fat mass across the 3 genotypes (TT, CT, and CC).
Conclusions: The significant and dose-dependent relation between lower REE and the C allele suggests that it may be a thrifty allele. The presence of this parsimonious energy metabolism in African American women, possibly linked to UCP3, may be implicated in their susceptibility to obesity. The absence of a UCP3 effect in white women is intriguing and needs to be explored to further understand possible interactions between UCP3 and other genes.
Key Words: Uncoupling protein genes UCP1 UCP2 UCP3 African American women white women thrifty gene energy metabolism obesity genetics
| INTRODUCTION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
The identification of genes that code for the uncoupling proteins (UCPs), a family of inner mitochondrial membrane transporters that dissipate the proton gradient and release stored energy in the form of heat, has opened an exciting area in the search for genetic modulators of energy metabolism (11). Although a polymorphism in the 5'-flanking region of UCP1 correlated significantly with a gain in percentage of body fat over time (12), a higher weight gain in morbidly obese adult subjects, and a lower body weight loss after energy restriction (13), the role of UCP1 in the regulation of human energy balance is debatable because it is specifically expressed in brown adipose tissue, of which humans have very little (14).
Unlike UCP1, UCP2 is widely expressed (11) and UCP3 is predominantly expressed in human skeletal muscle (15,16), a major tissue contributing to nonshivering thermogenesis in humans (1517). UCP2 and UCP3 have been localized within 150 kilobases of each other on chromosome 11q13 (16,18). As uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation and ATP synthesis (19,20), UCP2 and UCP3 are biologically plausible candidate genes to potentially influence energy metabolism and body weight.
Allelic variation at the UCP2 and UCP3 loci is reported to be associated with REE (21,22), rates of fat oxidation and respiratory quotients (17,23), and obesity (21,2427) in populations with a marked susceptibility to obesity. Yet, other studies, which primarily examined white obese and nonobese populations, failed to find such relations between UCP2 or UCP3 and REE (21,2830) or obesity (3133). Thus, the role of UCP2 and UCP3 in energy metabolism and human obesity remains unclear.
To date, no studies have examined the variants of the UCP genes in relation to REE in both African American and white females during late adolescence, a time when the racial differences in adiposity and REE first become manifest. The primary aim of the present study was to examine variation in REE in relation to genetic variation in UCP1, UCP2, and UCP3 in a biracial cohort of young women. A second aim was to investigate whether any of these variants were linked to adiposity.
| SUBJECTS AND METHODS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
700 women who were enrolled since age 910 y in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study (NGHS), a longitudinal study of obesity development during adolescence (34). The initial recruitment for the NGHS cohort in Cincinnati was via public and parochial schools chosen from census tracts that had the least racial disparity in the proportion of African American and white children and in income and education between African American and white residents. Initial NGHS eligibility was limited to girls and their parents who declared themselves as being either black or white and who lived in racially concordant households. Exclusion criteria were active dieting, any abrupt change in lifestyle during the past 2 wk, being <4 mo postpartum, taking medications (which may affect heart rate or energy metabolism), and having a chronic illness. There were no racial differences in the proportion of ineligible women or of those who refused or could not be contacted. Informed consent was obtained from each participant, and the study was approved by the respective institutional review boards at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, the University of Vermont, and the University of Pittsburgh.
Measurement of REE
REE was measured under controlled conditions with the use of indirect calorimetry with the DeltaTrac Metabolic Monitor II (SensorMedics, Yorba Linda, CA). All study subjects were admitted for an overnight stay at the Clinical Research Center of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. After the subjects had fasted overnight and while they were supine in their beds and still drowsy, their REE values were measured between 0600 and 0700 with the room temperature set at
21.7°C. After 15 min of acclimation, data were collected for 45 min. Energy expenditure was calculated from the equation of Weir (35). A second measurement, which followed the same protocol as the first, was made 1014 d (
: 11 d) later. Analysis of test-retest conditions yielded a CV of 5%. Thus, the average of the 2 REE measurements was used for data analysis.
Clinical measurements
At the time of each admission to the Clinical Research Center, subjects completed a questionnaire regarding current menstrual status, recent changes in body weight, changes in diet and physical activity, use of medications including contraceptives, and smoking history. Current smoking status was ascertained by a yes or no response. At the time of the first REE measurement, body composition was assessed with the use of a QDR-2000 dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry densitometer (Hologic Inc, Waltham, MA) in the pencil-beam mode with total body software (version 5.60; 36). Estimates of fat mass, total fat-free mass (tissue fat-free mass and bone mineral content), and percentage of body fat were derived from the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry measures.
Genotyping
DNA was extracted from buffy coats or blood clots collected when the study participants were 1521 y of age. Genotyping was done for 141 (73 African American, 68 white) women by using standard polymerase chain reaction methods. The UCP1 variants consist of a G-to-A substitution (Ala
Thr) in codon 64 of exon 2 (UCP1 exon 2) and an A-to-T substitution (Met
Leu) in codon 229 of exon 5 (UCP1 exon 5) (37). Two polymorphic sites in UCP2 were examined: a C-to-T substitution (Ala
Val) in codon 55 of exon 4 (UCP2 exon 4) (37) and a 45-base-pair insertion or deletion in the 3'-untranslated region of exon 8 (UCP2 exon 8) (32). Four UCP3 variants were examined: a C-to-T substitution -55 base pairs upstream from exon 1 (UCP3 p-55) (24), a T-to-C substitution (Tyr
Tyr) in codon 99 of exon 3 (UCP3 exon 3a) (33), a G-to-A substitution (Val
Ile) in codon 102 of exon 3 (UCP3 exon 3b) (33), and a C-to-T substitution (Tyr
Tyr) in codon 210 of exon 5 (UCP3 exon 5) (33). Allele frequencies were estimated by gene counting.
Statistical analysis
Independent t tests were used to examine racial differences in age, height, weight, and body composition. Chi-square tests were used to examine racial differences in smoking status and the distribution of the UCP1, UCP2, and UCP3 genotypes. Linkage disequilibria between UCP gene sites were calculated and tested with the use of the identifiable haplotypes (double heterozygotes were omitted from the calculations). The disequilibria (D) were calculated with the use of the following nonstandardized disequilibrium equation:
![]() | (1) |
The test of significance for the disequilibria is the chi-square test of association applied to the 2 x 2 table of identifiable haplotypes (38).
Data were analyzed for each UCP gene variant with separate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) models to examine the effect of each variant on REE values after adjustment for race (white as the reference), total fat-free mass, fat mass, and smoking status as covariates. Significant results by ANCOVA were followed by post hoc Tukey-Kramer tests for all pairwise comparisons. The effect of race interaction with UCP genotypes was also examined, and when appropriate, race-specific models were generated. A similar analysis was conducted with fat mass as the outcome and race, UCP genotypes, and fat-free mass as predictor variables. The Bartholomew trend test was used to examine REE across the UCP3 genotypes (39). Descriptive statistics and ANCOVA models were generated using SAS software (40). Statistical significance was set at P
0.05.
| RESULTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
|
|
|
|
± SD: 33.7 ± 5.0 kg) than in those with either the CT (23.9 ± 2.5 kg) or TT genotype (27.5 ± 1.9 kg) (data not shown); however, the trend test was not significant but suggestive (P = 0.1). In the white women, there was no significant association between fat mass and the UCP3 exon 5 genotypes.
Single marker association between the variable sites of UCP2 and UCP3 was examined in both races, with the exception of UCP3 exon 3b, which was examined only in the African American women because all of the white women had the GG genotype. Pairwise linkage disequilibrium values for UCP2 and UCP3 sites in the white and African American women are shown in Tables 4
and 5, respectively. The overall patterns of linkage disequilibrium in the white and African American women were similar but not identical.
|
| DISCUSSION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
In the present study, we examined the relation between REE and the UCP gene polymorphism in a biracial cohort of women aged 1821 y. Our findings are consistent with those of other published reports (210) that also showed lower REE values in African American women. Additionally, we derived a better estimate of the racial difference in REE values between African American and white women because we adjusted for potentially confounding factors such as smoking. Several salient findings from our study suggest that a UCP gene, in particular the UCP3 exon 5 variant, may be the candidate gene for the observed lower REE in African American women. First, there was a significant association between REE and the C allele in the UCP3 exon 5 variant in African American women: women with the CC genotype had lower REE than did those with the CT or TT genotype. Second, the relation between the C allele and REE was dose-dependent. Third, there was a trend, albeit not significant, toward an association between greater fat mass and the CC genotype in African American women. None of these 3 findings was present in white women.
The UCP3 exon 5 variation is a silent mutation that is not expected to alter the function of the UCP3 protein. Our results showed a similar but not identical pattern of linkage disequilibrium in white and African American women (Tables 4 and 5![]()
, respectively), suggesting that the nonfunctional UCP3 exon 5 site, which is significantly associated with REE in African American women but not in white women, may be in linkage disequilibrium for a functional variant elsewhere in the UCP2 and UCP3 gene regions in African Americans but not in whites. The failure to observe a significant association in white women may be due to an absence (or low frequency) of this postulated functional allele in whites or to a difference in the pattern of linkage disequilibrium in African Americans than in whites in this genomic region. This observation of racial differences in the UCP3 exon 5 gene effect is made more complex by the overall small sample size in the present study and the significant difference in UCP3 exon 5 allele frequencies between the 2 races.
|
| REFERENCES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
G (-3826) variant of the uncoupling protein gene and the Trp64Arg mutation of the ß3-adrenergic receptor gene on weight gain in morbid obesity. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1996;20:10626.[Medline]
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
J. D. Veldhuis, J. N. Roemmich, E. J. Richmond, and C. Y. Bowers Somatotropic and Gonadotropic Axes Linkages in Infancy, Childhood, and the Puberty-Adult Transition Endocr. Rev., April 1, 2006; 27(2): 101 - 140. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
X. Yu, D. R. Jacobs Jr, P. J. Schreiner, M. D. Gross, M. W. Steffes, and M. Fornage The Uncoupling Protein 2 Ala55Val Polymorphism Is Associated with Diabetes Mellitus: The CARDIA Study Clin. Chem., August 1, 2005; 51(8): 1451 - 1456. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Y.-J. Liu, P.-Y. Liu, J. Long, Y. Lu, L. Elze, R. R. Recker, and H.-W. Deng Linkage and association analyses of the UCP3 gene with obesity phenotypes in Caucasian families Physiol Genomics, July 14, 2005; 22(2): 197 - 203. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. E Aston Reply to AP Polednak Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, June 1, 2003; 77(6): 1528 - 1528. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. P Polednak Uncoupling protein genes and racial differences in obesity Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, June 1, 2003; 77 (6): 1527 - 1528. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. S. Cooper, J. S. Kaufman, and R. Ward Race and Genomics N. Engl. J. Med., March 20, 2003; 348(12): 1166 - 1170. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
N. A Schonfeld-Warden and C. H Warden Reply to R Cooper and A Luke Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, March 1, 2003; 77(3): 752 - 753. [Full Text] |
||||
![]() |
S. Y. Kimm Reply to R Cooper and A Luke Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, March 1, 2003; 77(3): 751 - 752. [Full Text] |
||||
![]() |
S. Y.S. Kimm and E. Obarzanek Childhood Obesity: A New Pandemic of the New Millennium Pediatrics, November 1, 2002; 110(5): 1003 - 1007. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
N. A Schonfeld-Warden and C. H Warden Uncoupling proteins: a molecular basis for racial differences in energy expenditure (and obesity?) Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, April 1, 2002; 75(4): 607 - 608. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |