Distinct skeletal muscle fiber characteristics and gene expression in diet-sensitive versus diet-resistant obesity.

Inter-individual variability in weight gain and loss under energy surfeit and deficit conditions, respectively, are well recognized but poorly understood phenomena. We documented weight loss variability in an intensively supervised clinical weight loss program and assessed skeletal muscle gene expression and phenotypic characteristics related to variable response to a 900 kcal regimen. Matched pairs of healthy, diet-compliant, obese diet-sensitive (ODS) and diet-resistant (ODR) subjects were defined as those in the highest and lowest quintiles for weight loss rate. Physical activity energy expenditure was minimal and comparable. Following program completion and weight stabilization, skeletal muscle biopsies were obtained. Gene expression analysis of rectus femoris and vastus lateralis indicated upregulation of genes and gene sets involved in oxidative phosphorylation and glucose and fatty acid metabolism in ODS compared with ODR. In vastus lateralis, there was a higher proportion of oxidative (type I) fibers in ODS compared with ODR women and lean controls, fiber hypertrophy in ODS compared with ODR women and lean controls, and lower succinate dehydrogenase in oxidative and oxidative-glycolytic fibers in all obese compared with lean subjects. Intramuscular lipid content was generally higher in obese versus lean, and specifically higher in ODS vs. lean women. Altogether, our findings demonstrate differences in muscle gene expression and fiber composition related to clinical weight loss success.

Identifying genes for coronary artery disease: An idea whose time has come.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains the number one killer in the western world. Genetics accounts for greater than 50% of the risk for CAD. Genetic screening and early prevention in individuals identified as being at increased risk could dramatically reduce the prevalence of CAD, thus necessitating the identification of genes predisposing to CAD. Studies of genes identified by the candidate gene approach have not been replicated due, in part, to inadequate sample size. Genome-wide scan association studies have been limited by the use of thousands of markers rather than the hundreds of thousands required, and by the use of hundreds of individuals rather than the thousands required. Replication of positive findings in an independent population is essential. To detect a minor allele frequency of 5% or greater with an odds ratio for risk of 1.3 or greater and 90% power, an estimated 14,000 (9000 affected and 5000 control) subjects are required. METHODS: The Affymetrix GeneChip Human Mapping 500K Array Set (Affymetrix Inc, USA) provides a marker every 6000 base pairs as required, and is being used to genotype 1000 cases of premature CAD and 1000 normal subjects, followed by replication in 8000 affected individuals and 4000 control subjects. The phenotype is confirmed or excluded by coronary arteriograms by catheterization or multislice computed tomography. RESULTS: Since 2005, more than 800 million genotypes have been performed and analyses performed on 500 control subjects and 500 affected individuals. Several thousand significant single nucleotide polymorphisms and 130 clusters associated with CAD have been identified. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first genome-wide scan using the 500,000 marker set in a case-control association study for CAD genes. Several genes associated with CAD appear promising.

Gain-of-function R225W mutation in human AMPKgamma(3) causing increased glycogen and decreased triglyceride in skeletal muscle.

BACKGROUND: AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a heterotrimeric enzyme that is evolutionarily conserved from yeast to mammals and functions to maintain cellular and whole body energy homeostasis. Studies in experimental animals demonstrate that activation of AMPK in skeletal muscle protects against insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and obesity. The regulatory gamma(3) subunit of AMPK is expressed exclusively in skeletal muscle; however, its importance in controlling overall AMPK activity is unknown. While evidence is emerging that gamma subunit mutations interfere specifically with AMP activation, there remains some controversy regarding the impact of gamma subunit mutations. Here we report the first gain-of-function mutation in the muscle-specific regulatory gamma(3) subunit in humans. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We sequenced the exons and splice junctions of the AMPK gamma(3) gene (PRKAG3) in 761 obese and 759 lean individuals, identifying 87 sequence variants including a novel R225W mutation in subjects from two unrelated families. The gamma(3) R225W mutation is homologous in location to the gamma(2)R302Q mutation in patients with Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome and to the gamma(3)R225Q mutation originally linked to an increase in muscle glycogen content in purebred Hampshire Rendement Napole (RN-) pigs. We demonstrate in differentiated muscle satellite cells obtained from the vastus lateralis of R225W carriers that the mutation is associated with an approximate doubling of both basal and AMP-activated AMPK activities. Moreover, subjects bearing the R225W mutation exhibit a approximately 90% increase of skeletal muscle glycogen content and a approximately 30% decrease in intramuscular triglyceride (IMTG). CONCLUSIONS: We have identified for the first time a mutation in the skeletal muscle-specific regulatory gamma(3) subunit of AMPK in humans. The gamma(3)R225W mutation has significant functional effects as demonstrated by increases in basal and AMP-activated AMPK activities, increased muscle glycogen and decreased IMTG. Overall, these findings are consistent with an important regulatory role for AMPK gamma(3) in human muscle energy metabolism.

A common allele on chromosome 9 associated with coronary heart disease.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a major cause of death in Western countries. We used genome-wide association scanning to identify a 58-kilobase interval on chromosome 9p21 that was consistently associated with CHD in six independent samples (more than 23,000 participants) from four Caucasian populations. This interval, which is located near the CDKN2A and CDKN2B genes, contains no annotated genes and is not associated with established CHD risk factors such as plasma lipoproteins, hypertension, or diabetes. Homozygotes for the risk allele make up 20 to 25% of Caucasians and have a approximately 30 to 40% increased risk of CHD.

Medical sequencing at the extremes of human body mass.

Body weight is a quantitative trait with significant heritability in humans. To identify potential genetic contributors to this phenotype, we resequenced the coding exons and splice junctions of 58 genes in 379 obese and 378 lean individuals. Our 96-Mb survey included 21 genes associated with monogenic forms of obesity in humans or mice, as well as 37 genes that function in body weight-related pathways. We found that the monogenic obesity-associated gene group was enriched for rare nonsynonymous variants unique to the obese population compared with the lean population. In addition, computational analysis predicted a greater fraction of deleterious variants within the obese cohort. Together, these data suggest that multiple rare alleles contribute to obesity in the population and provide a medical sequencing-based approach to detect them.

Predominance of a proinflammatory phenotype in monocyte-derived macrophages from subjects with low plasma HDL-cholesterol.

OBJECTIVE: Reduced plasma concentrations of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) are a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Mechanisms that regulate HDL-C concentrations represent an important area of investigation. METHODS AND RESULTS: Comparative transcriptome analyses of monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) from a large population of low HDL-C subjects and age- and sex-matched controls revealed a cluster of inflammatory genes highly expressed in low HDL-C subjects. The expression levels of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) gamma and several antioxidant metallothionein genes were decreased in MDM from all low HDL-C groups compared with controls, as was the expression of other genes regulated by PPARgamma, including CD36, adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (FABP4), and adipophilin (ADFP). In contrast, PPARdelta expression was increased in MDM from low HDL-C groups. Quantitative RT-PCR corroborated all major findings from the microarray analysis in two separate patient cohorts. Expression of several inflammatory cytokine genes including interleukin 1beta, interleukin 8, and tumor necrosis factor alpha were highly increased in low HDL-C subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The activated proinflammatory state of monocytes and MDM in low HDL-C subjects constitutes a novel parameter of risk associated with HDL deficiency, related to altered expression of metallothionein genes and the reciprocal regulation of PPARgamma and PPARdelta.

Genetic etiology of isolated low HDL syndrome: incidence and heterogeneity of efflux defects.

OBJECTIVE: We have used a multitiered approach to identify genetic and cellular contributors to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) deficiency in 124 human subjects. METHODS AND RESULTS: We resequenced 4 candidate genes for HDL regulation and identified several functional nonsynonymous mutations including 2 in apolipoprotein A-I (APOA1), 4 in lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT), 1 in phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP), and 7 in the ATP-binding cassette transporter ABCA1, leaving 88% (110/124) of HDL deficient subjects without a genetic diagnosis. Cholesterol efflux assays performed using cholesterol-loaded monocyte-derived macrophages from the 124 low HDL subjects and 48 control subjects revealed that 33% (41/124) of low HDL subjects had low efflux, despite the fact that the majority of these subjects (34/41) were not carriers of dysfunctional ABCA1 alleles. In contrast, only 2% of control subjects presented with low efflux (1/48). In 3 families without ABCA1 mutations, efflux defects were found to cosegregate with low HDL. CONCLUSIONS: Efflux defects are frequent in low HDL syndromes, but the majority of HDL deficient subjects with cellular cholesterol efflux defects do not harbor ABCA1 mutations, suggesting that novel pathways contribute to this phenotype.

A PYY Q62P variant linked to human obesity.

Peptide YY (PYY) has been implicated in the control of food intake through functional studies in rodents and humans. To investigate whether genetic alterations within this gene result in abnormal weight in humans, we sequenced its coding exons and splice sites in a large cohort of extremely obese [n = 379; average body mass index (BMI), 49.0 kg/m2] and lean (n = 378; average BMI, 19.5 kg/m2) individuals. In total, three rare non-synonymous variants were identified, only one of which, PYY Q62P, exhibited familial segregation with body mass. Through serendipity, previous studies based on cell culture revealed this precise variant to have altered receptor-binding selectivity in vitro. We further show, using mouse peptide injection experiments, that while the wild-type PYY peptide reduces food intake, the mutant PYY 62P had an insignificant effect in reducing food intake in vivo. Taken together, these results are the first to support that rare sequence variants within PYY can influence human susceptibility to obesity.

Lack of MEF2A mutations in coronary artery disease.

Mutations in MEF2A have been implicated in an autosomal dominant form of coronary artery disease (adCAD1). In this study we sought to determine whether severe mutations in MEF2A might also explain sporadic cases of coronary artery disease (CAD). To do this, we resequenced the coding sequence and splice sites of MEF2A in approximately 300 patients with premature CAD and failed to find causative mutations in the CAD cohort. However, we did identify the 21-bp MEF2A coding sequence deletion originally implicated in adCAD1 in 1 of 300 elderly control subjects without CAD. Further screening of approximately 1,500 additional individuals without CAD revealed 2 more subjects with the MEF2A 21-bp deletion. Genotyping of 19 family members of the 3 probands with the 21-bp deletion in MEF2A revealed that the mutation did not cosegregate with early CAD. These studies support that MEF2A mutations are not a common cause of CAD in white people and argue strongly against a role for the MEF2A 21-bp deletion in autosomal dominant CAD.