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Genetic variation at the adipsin locus and response to long-term overfeeding

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 57, pages 1073–1078 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Objectives: The role of adipsin and adipsin Hinc II polymorphisms on the metabolic and body composition changes in response to overfeeding was studied.

Subjects: A total of 12 pairs of male monozygotic twins ate a 4.2 MJ/day energy surplus, 6 days a week, during a period of 100 days.

Results: The preoverfeeding plasma adipsin concentration correlated positively with the change in CT-measured abdominal total and subcutaneous (P<0.05) fat. The changes in abdominal total fat and abdominal subcutaneous fat correlated negatively with changes in plasma adipsin concentrations (P<0.005). Overfeeding induced greater increases in body weight, fat mass, abdominal total and subcutaneous fat (P<0.05) in 6.1 kb noncarriers (n=10) than in 6.1 kb carriers (n=14) of the adipsin Hinc II polymorphism. The 6.1 kb noncarriers had a greater increase in plasma leptin levels (P<0.01). Also the total (P<0.01) and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)-triglycerides (P<0.05), apolipoprotein B (P<0.05) and VLDL-cholesterol (P<0.05) levels increased more in the 6.1 kb noncarriers than in the 6.1 kb carriers.

Conclusions: Adipsin plasma level could be a predictor of the changes in abdominal subcutaneous fat during times of increased energy intake. However, a greater increase in the abdominal subcutaneous fat was related to a lower increase in the plasma adipsin level. The adipsin Hinc II 6.1 kb allele noncarriers gained more abdominal subcutaneous fat and had a greater increase in plasma levels of leptin- and triglyceride-rich lipoproteins when exposed to a long-term positive energy balance. These findings provide new information on the role of adipsin on individual differences in response to chronically elevated food intake.

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to Jacques Bouillon, Suzie Hamel, Brigitte Zément, Maryse Lebrun, Martine Marcotte, Josée Lapointe, Henri Bessette, Gilles Bouchard, and Serge Carbonneau for their contributions to this study. Gratitude is expressed to Dr A Nadeau and the staff of the Diabetes Research Unit for the glucose and insulin assays and to Dr Antonella Napolitano-Rosen, Beth Israel Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA for the adipsin assays.

Special thanks to Guy Fournier and Dr Germain Thériault for their role in the management of the study. Thanks also to Claude Leblanc for his statistical support. Supported in part by a grant (DK 34624) from the National Institutes of Health. C Bouchard is partially supported by the George A. Bray Chair in Nutrition.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine and Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    O Ukkola

  2. Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    M Chagnon & C Bouchard

  3. Division of Kinesiology, Physical Activity Sciences Laboratory, Laval University, Ste-Foy, Québec, Canada

    A Tremblay

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  1. O Ukkola
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  2. M Chagnon
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  3. A Tremblay
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  4. C Bouchard
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Correspondence to C Bouchard.

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Ukkola, O., Chagnon, M., Tremblay, A. et al. Genetic variation at the adipsin locus and response to long-term overfeeding. Eur J Clin Nutr 57, 1073–1078 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601644

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