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Leptin receptor gene variation and obesity: lack of association in a white British male population

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Helen Imrie

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Abstract

Leptin, a hormone secreted by adipocytes, plays a pivotal role in the control of body weight. Rodents with mutations in the leptin receptor gene develop morbid obesity. It is possible, therefore, that leptin receptor gene mutations contribute to human obesity. To test this possibility, we determined the entire coding sequence of the human leptin receptor cDNA from peripheral blood lymphocytes of 22 morbidly obese patients with body-mass index (BMI) between 35.1 and 60.9 kg/m2. We identified five common DNA sequence variants distributed throughout the coding sequence at codons 109, 223, 343, 656 and 1019, one rare silent mutation at codon 986 and one novel alternatively spliced form of transcript. None of the five common variants, including the three that predict amino acid changes, are null mutations causing morbid obesity, because homozygotes for the variant sequences were also found in lean subjects. Furthermore, the frequency of each variant allele and the distribution of genotypes and haplotypes were similar in 190 obese (BMI >28 kg/m2) and 132 lean (BMI <22 kg/m2) white British males selected from a population-based epidemiological survey. In these subjects, there was no evidence for a significant effect of the common variants on obesity or obesity-related phenotypes. These results suggest that mutations in the leptin receptor gene are not a common cause of human obesity.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Gotoda T, Manning BS, Goldstone AP, Imrie H, Evans AL, Strosberg AD, McKeigue PM, Scott J, Aitman TJ

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Human Molecular Genetics

Year: 1997

Volume: 6

Issue: 6

Pages: 869-876

ISSN (print): 0964-6906

ISSN (electronic): 1460-2083

Publisher: Oxford University Press

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/hmg/6.6.869

DOI: 10.1093/hmg/6.6.869


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