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Associations between TRPV4 genotypes and body mass index in Taiwanese subjects

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Abstract

Body weight regulation is influenced neuronally via the hypothalamus, which strongly expresses TRPV4. TRPV4 deficiency in mice confers resistance against diet-induced obesity. We investigated the association between TRPV4 gene variants and body mass index (BMI) in Taiwanese subjects. A sample population of 617 Taiwanese subjects was enrolled, and ten TRPV4 gene polymorphisms were selected and genotyped. After adjusting for clinical covariates, significant associations were observed between three studied polymorphisms and BMI using a dominant model (P = 4.83 × 10−4, P = 1.17 × 10−4, and P = 3.37 × 10−4 for rs3742037, rs10735104, and rs3742035, respectively). Obesity as defined according to both the Asian and National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria was significantly associated with rs10735104 (P = 0.003 and P = 0.037, respectively) in a dominant model. Genotypes at the TRPV4 locus independently affect BMI and obesity status in Taiwanese subjects. This association may broaden our understanding of the role of neuronal influence on body weight regulation. The regulation of TRPV4 channels in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue could also be a new therapeutic target for preventing the development of obesity.

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Abbreviations

SNPs:

Single nucleotide polymorphisms

BMI:

Body mass index

GWAS:

Genome-wide association studies

TRP:

Transient receptor potential

TRPV4:

Transient receptor potential vanilloid subtype 4

NIH:

National Institutes of Health

ELISA:

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

HDL:

High-density lipoprotein

LDL:

Low-density lipoprotein

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant from the National Science Council, Taiwan (NSC101-2314-B-303-023-MY3), and a grant from the Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital (TCRD-I100-01-01) to YL Ko.

Conflict of interest

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine and The Cardiovascular Medical Center, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, No. 289 Jianguo Road, Xindian Dist, New Taipei City, 231, Taiwan, ROC

    De-Min Duan, Jeng-Feng Lin & Yu-Lin Ko

  2. Department of Research, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, No. 289 Jianguo Road, Xindian Dist, New Taipei City, 231, Taiwan, ROC

    Semon Wu, Ming-Sheng Teng & Yu-Lin Ko

  3. Tzu Chi University College of Medicine, Hualien, Taiwan

    Ching-Feng Cheng & Yu-Lin Ko

  4. Department of Life Science, Chinese Culture University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Semon Wu

  5. The First Cardiovascular Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    Lung-An Hsu

  6. Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan

    Lung-An Hsu

  7. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    Yu-Chen Sun

  8. Department of Pediatrics, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan

    Ching-Feng Cheng

Authors
  1. De-Min Duan
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  2. Semon Wu
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  7. Ching-Feng Cheng
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  8. Yu-Lin Ko
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yu-Lin Ko.

Additional information

Communicated by S. Hohmann.

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Duan, DM., Wu, S., Hsu, LA. et al. Associations between TRPV4 genotypes and body mass index in Taiwanese subjects. Mol Genet Genomics 290, 1357–1365 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-015-0996-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-015-0996-8

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