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CYP19A1 genetic polymorphisms may be associated with obesity-related phenotypes in Chinese women

International Journal of Obesity volume 31, pages 418–423 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Object:

To examine the relationship between genetic polymorphisms of the CYP19A1 gene and obesity-related phenotypes, body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR).

Subjects:

In total, 1241 Chinese women, who were recruited as community controls for a population-based case–control study of breast cancer.

Methods:

Nineteen haplotype tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (htSNPs) in four haplotype blocks were genotyped.

Results:

Significant associations were observed for WHR at three SNPs that are located in haplotype block 1, including rs2445765, rs1004984 and rs1902584 (P=0.05, 0.04 and 0.01, respectively). Women, particularly premenopausal women, who carried the minor allele at any of these SNPs, had higher WHR than those without it. Of these three SNPs, the strongest association was observed at rs1902584, which is the closest to Promoter I.4, the major promoter for adipose tissue. Haplotype analyses indicated an association between the haplotype TCCAT in block 1 and WHR with a P-value of 0.02.

Conclusion:

These results suggested that CYP19A1 genetic polymorphisms may be associated with the risk of obesity among Chinese women, especially among premenopausal women.

The CYP19A1 protein (aromatase) plays a critical role in estrogen biosynthesis and thus affects body fat distribution and regulation.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Drs Qi Dai and Fan Jin and Ms Jia-Rong Cheng for their contributions in coordinating data and specimen collection in Shanghai, Ms Qing Wang and Ms Regina Courtney for technical assistance in genotyping assays and Ms Allison Reed for technical assistance in the preparation of this manuscript. This study was supported by National Cancer Institute USPHS RO1CA64277 and RO1CA90899.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

    J-R Long, X-O Shu, Q Cai, W Wen, N Kataoka & W Zheng

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Shanghai, China

    Y-T Gao

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  1. J-R Long
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  2. X-O Shu
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Correspondence to J-R Long.

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Long, JR., Shu, XO., Cai, Q. et al. CYP19A1 genetic polymorphisms may be associated with obesity-related phenotypes in Chinese women. Int J Obes 31, 418–423 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803439

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803439

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