Identification of an obesity quantitative trait locus on mouse chromosome 2 and evidence of linkage to body fat and insulin on the human homologous region 20q.

Chromosomal synteny between the mouse model and humans was used to map a gene for the complex trait of obesity. Analysis of NZB/BINJ x SM/J intercross mice located a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for obesity on distal mouse chromosome 2, in a region syntenic with a large region of human chromosome 20, showing linkage to percent body fat (likelihood of the odds [LOD] score 3.6) and fat mass (LOD score 4.3). The QTL was confirmed in a congenic mouse strain. To test whether the QTL contributes to human obesity, we studied linkage between markers located within a 52-cM region extending from 20p12 to 20q13.3 and measures of obesity in 650 French Canadian subjects from 152 pedigrees participating in the Quebec Family Study. Sib-pair analysis based on a maximum of 258 sib pairs revealed suggestive linkages between the percentage of body fat (P < 0.004), body mass index (P < 0.008), and fasting insulin (P < 0.0005) and a locus extending approximately from ADA (the adenosine deaminase gene) to MC3R (the melanocortin 3 receptor gene). These data provide evidence that a locus on human chromosome 20q contributes to body fat and insulin in a human population, and demonstrate the utility of using interspecies syntenic relationships to find relevant disease loci in humans.

Electron-microscopic and hydrodynamic characterization of recombinant apolipoprotein (a) and its association with LDL.

A recombinant apo(a) containing 17 kringle 4 domains as well as the kringle 5 and protease domains of apo(a) was characterized by hydrodynamic studies and electron microscopy. Recombinant apo(a) is a monomer in solution with a molecular weight of 325,000 by sedimentation equilibrium and 320,000 by sedimentation and diffusion, and it is a highly asymmetric molecule with a frictional ratio of 2.2. In the electron microscope recombinant apo(a) is visualized as a flexible chain of domains approximately 800 A long. Sedimentation velocity studies also demonstrate that when it is mixed with LDL, recombinant apo(a) reversibly forms an Lp(a)-like complex with a 1:1 stoichiometry; moreover, complex formation is inhibited by 6-amino hexanoic acid. Hydrodynamic modeling and electron microscopy suggest that only a small portion of the r-apo(a) molecule interacts with the LDL and the rest of the chain extends into solution. Preliminary studies indicate that recombinant apo(a) also binds mouse LDL.

A locus on the X chromosome is linked to body length in mice.

Linkage between body length (anus to nose (AN) length) and three markers on the mouse X Chromosome was found in an interspecific backcross ((C57BL/6J x Mus spretus) F 1x C57BL/6J), designated BSB. A cross of 409 mice were scored for 148 genetic markers distributed on all chromosomes except the Y Chromosome. Statistical analysis revealed highly significant linkage (LOD score 5.5) between body length and a locus in the middle portion of the X Chromosome, the nearest markers being the microsatellite marker DXMit73 and a farnesyl pyrophosphate locus (Fpsl9) 3.1 cM proximal to DXMit73. The locus explains 10% of the variance in AN length and affects both males and females to about the same extent.

Physical properties of recombinant apolipoprotein(a) and its association with LDL to form an LP(a)-like complex.

Recombinant apolipoprotein(a) has been studied by hydrodynamic techniques and electron microscopy. Recombinant apo(a) was primarily a monomer in solution with an s0(20,w) of 9.3 S, a D20,w of 2.29 ficks, and a molecular weight of 325,000 from sedimentation equilibrium and 318,000 from combining the sedimentation and diffusion coefficients. A small amount, approximately 10%, of the recombinant apo(a) was present as a high molecular weight aggregate. The Stokes radius of the monomer, determined either from the diffusion coefficient or by combining the sedimentation equilibrium data with the sedimentation velocity data, was 94 A. The frictional ratio was 2.2, suggesting a highly asymmetric or random coil structure. In the electron microscope, recombinant apolipoprotein(a) was visualized as a long, highly flexible chain of domains forming large, open coiled structures on the EM grid with contour lengths of about 800 A. Addition of 6-aminohexanoic acid at 50 mM, a concentration which should saturate the weak lysine binding sites, did not alter the sedimentation behavior. In vivo, apolipoprotein(a) is associated tightly with LDL to form a highly atherogenic lipoprotein, Lp(a). A single molecule of recombinant apo(a) also associated tightly with LDL to yield a 13.3-S Lp(a)-like complex. This complex dissociated upon the addition of 50 mM 6-aminohexanoic acid. A novel sucrose gradient centrifugation technique was employed to determine a dissociation constant for the reversible equilibrium between recombinant apo(a) and LDL; at physiological ionic strength the dissociation constant was 0.3 nM. Raising the salt concentration to 5 M NaBr caused the dissociation constant to increase to 500 nM.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)