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The β3-adrenergic receptor gene and obesity in a population sample of African Americans

International Journal of Obesity volume 25, pages 54–60 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of the Trp64Arg polymorphism in the β3-adrenergic receptor gene and the β3-adrenergic receptor gene locus in obesity-related traits in African Americans.

SUBJECTS: A total of 687 individuals representing 193 African American families who were residents of metropolitan Chicago.

MEASUREMENTS: Genotyping of the Trp64Arg polymorphism in the β3-adrenergic receptor gene and three microsatellite markers flanking the β3-adrenergic receptor gene (ADRB3) locus and measuring various obesity-related traits, including body mass index (BMI), fat-free mass, fat mass, percentage fat mass, waist circumference and serum lipid levels.

RESULTS: The prevalence of obesity (defined as body mass index ≥30 kg/m2) in the population was 27.3% and 51.2% in men and women, respectively. The frequency of the Arg64 allele was 10.0%. Multivariate regression analyses confirmed the existence of a significant contribution of familial variance to each of the five obesity-related traits noted above. Likelihood ratio statistics computed in a multivariate regression analysis failed to demonstrate a significant association between the Arg64 allele and any of the five obesity-related traits. Single and multipoint analyses using extended Haseman–Elston regression analyses failed to demonstrate suggestive evidence of linkage of three microsatellite markers that flank the β3-adrenergic receptor gene to BMI, percentage body fat, waist circumference or serum leptin levels.

CONCLUSION: Given the contribution of familial variance to obesity-related traits in this population, neither the null finding for the Arg64 allele nor the lack of evidence of linkage of the ADRB3 locus to obesity-related traits could be attributed to lack of transmissibility of the traits suggesting that neither the Arg64 variant of the β3-adrenergic receptor gene nor another genetic variant in or near the ADRB3 locus contribute significantly to familial aggregation of obesity-related traits in African Americans.

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Acknowledgements

Association analysis was run using the ASSOC subroutine of the SAGE 2.2 statistical package for genetic epidemiology, and linkage analysis was run using the SIBPAL2 routine of the SAGE 4.0 statistical package for genetic epidemiology (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH). This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (HL-45508, HL-47910, and HL-53353). The authors would like to thank Dr Peter Kopp for critical reading of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Lakeside Division, Northwestern University Medical School and VA Chicago Healthcare System, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    WL Lowe Jr, TS Schuh & TJ Kotlar

  2. Department of Preventive Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois, USA

    CN Rotimi, A Luke, X Guo, X Zhu, S Halbach & RS Cooper

  3. Department of Genetics, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, San Antonio, Texas, USA

    AG Comuzzie

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Lowe, W., Rotimi, C., Luke, A. et al. The β3-adrenergic receptor gene and obesity in a population sample of African Americans. Int J Obes 25, 54–60 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801487

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