Genetic Studies of Leptin Concentrations Implicate Leptin in the Regulation of Early Adiposity.

Yaghootkar H, Zhang Y, Spracklen CN, Karaderi T, Huang LO, Bradfield J, Schurmann C, Fine RS, Preuss MH, Kutalik Z, Wittemans LBL, Lu Y, Metz S, Willems SM, Li-Gao R, Grarup N, Wang S, Molnos S, Sandoval-Zárate AA, Nalls MA, Lange LA, Haesser J, Guo X, Lyytikäinen LP, Feitosa MF, Sitlani CM, Venturini C, Mahajan A, Kacprowski T, Wang CA, Chasman DI, Amin N, Broer L, Robertson N, Young KL, Allison M, Auer PL, Blüher M, Borja JB, Bork-Jensen J, Carrasquilla GD, Christofidou P, Demirkan A, Doege CA, Garcia ME, Graff M, Guo K, Hakonarson H, Hong J, Ida Chen YD, Jackson R, Jakupović H, Jousilahti P, Justice AE, Kähönen M, Kizer JR, Kriebel J, LeDuc CA, Li J, Lind L, Luan J, Mackey DA, Mangino M, Männistö S, Martin Carli JF, Medina-Gomez C, Mook-Kanamori DO, Morris AP, de Mutsert R, Nauck M, Prokic I, Pennell CE, Pradhan AD, Psaty BM, Raitakari OT, Scott RA, Skaaby T, Strauch K, Taylor KD, Teumer A, Uitterlinden AG, Wu Y, Yao J, Walker M, North KE, Kovacs P, Ikram MA, van Duijn CM, Ridker PM, Lye S, Homuth G, Ingelsson E, Spector TD, McKnight B, Province MA, Lehtimäki T, Adair LS, Rotter JI, Reiner AP, Wilson JG, Harris TB, Ripatti S, Grallert H, Meigs JB, Salomaa V, Hansen T, Willems van Dijk K, Wareham NJ, Grant SFA, Langenberg C, Frayling TM, Lindgren CM, Mohlke KL, Leibel RL, Loos RJF, Kilpeläinen TO

Diabetes 69 (12) 2806-2818 [2020-12-00; online 2020-09-11]

Leptin influences food intake by informing the brain about the status of body fat stores. Rare LEP mutations associated with congenital leptin deficiency cause severe early-onset obesity that can be mitigated by administering leptin. However, the role of genetic regulation of leptin in polygenic obesity remains poorly understood. We performed an exome-based analysis in up to 57,232 individuals of diverse ancestries to identify genetic variants that influence adiposity-adjusted leptin concentrations. We identify five novel variants, including four missense variants, in LEP, ZNF800, KLHL31, and ACTL9, and one intergenic variant near KLF14. The missense variant Val94Met (rs17151919) in LEP was common in individuals of African ancestry only, and its association with lower leptin concentrations was specific to this ancestry (P = 2 × 10-16, n = 3,901). Using in vitro analyses, we show that the Met94 allele decreases leptin secretion. We also show that the Met94 allele is associated with higher BMI in young African-ancestry children but not in adults, suggesting that leptin regulates early adiposity.

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

National Genomics Infrastructure [Service]

PubMed 32917775

DOI 10.2337/db20-0070

Crossref 10.2337/db20-0070

pii: db20-0070
pmc: PMC7679778
figshare: 10.2337/figshare.12933737