Large meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies five loci for lean body mass.

Zillikens MC, Demissie S, Hsu YH, Yerges-Armstrong LM, Chou WC, Stolk L, Livshits G, Broer L, Johnson T, Koller DL, Kutalik Z, Luan J, Malkin I, Ried JS, Smith AV, Thorleifsson G, Vandenput L, Hua Zhao J, Zhang W, Aghdassi A, Åkesson K, Amin N, Baier LJ, Barroso I, Bennett DA, Bertram L, Biffar R, Bochud M, Boehnke M, Borecki IB, Buchman AS, Byberg L, Campbell H, Campos Obanda N, Cauley JA, Cawthon PM, Cederberg H, Chen Z, Cho NH, Jin Choi H, Claussnitzer M, Collins F, Cummings SR, De Jager PL, Demuth I, Dhonukshe-Rutten RAM, Diatchenko L, Eiriksdottir G, Enneman AW, Erdos M, Eriksson JG, Eriksson J, Estrada K, Evans DS, Feitosa MF, Fu M, Garcia M, Gieger C, Girke T, Glazer NL, Grallert H, Grewal J, Han BG, Hanson RL, Hayward C, Hofman A, Hoffman EP, Homuth G, Hsueh WC, Hubal MJ, Hubbard A, Huffman KM, Husted LB, Illig T, Ingelsson E, Ittermann T, Jansson JO, Jordan JM, Jula A, Karlsson M, Khaw KT, Kilpeläinen TO, Klopp N, Kloth JSL, Koistinen HA, Kraus WE, Kritchevsky S, Kuulasmaa T, Kuusisto J, Laakso M, Lahti J, Lang T, Langdahl BL, Launer LJ, Lee JY, Lerch MM, Lewis JR, Lind L, Lindgren C, Liu Y, Liu T, Liu Y, Ljunggren Ö, Lorentzon M, Luben RN, Maixner W, McGuigan FE, Medina-Gomez C, Meitinger T, Melhus H, Mellström D, Melov S, Michaëlsson K, Mitchell BD, Morris AP, Mosekilde L, Newman A, Nielson CM, O'Connell JR, Oostra BA, Orwoll ES, Palotie A, Parker SCJ, Peacock M, Perola M, Peters A, Polasek O, Prince RL, Räikkönen K, Ralston SH, Ripatti S, Robbins JA, Rotter JI, Rudan I, Salomaa V, Satterfield S, Schadt EE, Schipf S, Scott L, Sehmi J, Shen J, Soo Shin C, Sigurdsson G, Smith S, Soranzo N, Stančáková A, Steinhagen-Thiessen E, Streeten EA, Styrkarsdottir U, Swart KMA, Tan ST, Tarnopolsky MA, Thompson P, Thomson CA, Thorsteinsdottir U, Tikkanen E, Tranah GJ, Tuomilehto J, van Schoor NM, Verma A, Vollenweider P, Völzke H, Wactawski-Wende J, Walker M, Weedon MN, Welch R, Wichmann HE, Widen E, Williams FMK, Wilson JF, Wright NC, Xie W, Yu L, Zhou Y, Chambers JC, Döring A, van Duijn CM, Econs MJ, Gudnason V, Kooner JS, Psaty BM, Spector TD, Stefansson K, Rivadeneira F, Uitterlinden AG, Wareham NJ, Ossowski V, Waterworth D, Loos RJF, Karasik D, Harris TB, Ohlsson C, Kiel DP

Nat Commun 8 (1) 80 [2017-07-19; online 2017-07-19]

Lean body mass, consisting mostly of skeletal muscle, is important for healthy aging. We performed a genome-wide association study for whole body (20 cohorts of European ancestry with n = 38,292) and appendicular (arms and legs) lean body mass (n = 28,330) measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry or bioelectrical impedance analysis, adjusted for sex, age, height, and fat mass. Twenty-one single-nucleotide polymorphisms were significantly associated with lean body mass either genome wide (p < 5 × 10 -8) or suggestively genome wide (p < 2.3 × 10-6). Replication in 63,475 (47,227 of European ancestry) individuals from 33 cohorts for whole body lean body mass and in 45,090 (42,360 of European ancestry) subjects from 25 cohorts for appendicular lean body mass was successful for five single-nucleotide polymorphisms in/near HSD17B11, VCAN, ADAMTSL3, IRS1, and FTO for total lean body mass and for three single-nucleotide polymorphisms in/near VCAN, ADAMTSL3, and IRS1 for appendicular lean body mass. Our findings provide new insight into the genetics of lean body mass.Lean body mass is a highly heritable trait and is associated with various health conditions. Here, Kiel and colleagues perform a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for whole body lean body mass and find five novel genetic loci to be significantly associated.

NGI Uppsala (SNP&SEQ Technology Platform) [Service]

National Genomics Infrastructure [Service]

PubMed 28724990

DOI 10.1038/s41467-017-00031-7

Crossref 10.1038/s41467-017-00031-7

pii: 10.1038/s41467-017-00031-7
pmc: PMC5517526