Genetic determination of adiponectin and its relationship with body fat topography in multigenerational families of African heritage

Abstract

Adiponectin, an adipose-specific protein, is negatively associated with adiposity, insulin sensitivity, and diabetes. Very few studies have examined the role of heredity in the regulation of adiponectin and its association with body fat among individuals of African heritage. Thus, we measured fasting serum adiponectin levels by radioimmunoassay and body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in 402 individuals aged 18 to 103 years belonging to 7 multigenerational families of African heritage in the relatively homogeneous island population of Tobago. Heritability of adiponectin was 33.2% (P < .01), and age, sex, and body mass index explained 23.4% of the variance in adiponectin. Sex-specific heritability was significant in men (heritability, 34%; P < .05), but not in women. The inverse associations between body mass index and percentage of body fat and adiponectin, independent of age and height, were much stronger in women (all P values <.001) than in men. However, percentage of trunk fat was consistently strongly associated with adiponectin in both men (r = -0.40, P < .001) and women (r = -0.44, P < .001), independent of age and height. This study suggests that genetic factors are a significant source of interindividual differences in circulating adiponectin among Afro-Caribbeans. Adiponectin may serve as a promising quantitative intermediate trait in studies designed to map the genes underlying diabetes and obesity in this population.

Clear detection of ADIPOQ locus as the major gene for plasma adiponectin: Results of genome-wide association analyses including 4659 European individuals

“…The heritability estimates of plasma adiponectin are high with roughly 50-60% (4,12-14). The ADIPOQ locus accounts for 6.7% of the variance in our populations-based KORA Study, which is in-line with previous reports (10).…”

“…An explanation for these differences is lacking as plasma adiponectin is only moderately influenced by nutritional behavior, physical activity or other environmental components (5,8,11). However, there is clear evidence for a high heritability of about 50% (4,12-14) which one study even suggested to be sex-dependent (14). In line with lower plasma adiponectin in men, higher prevalences of type 2 diabetes and impaired fasting glucose were also reported in men (15).…”

Insulin Resistance and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Black People of the African Diaspora

“…Similarly, Crowther et al [48] have also shown that serum total adiponectin levels are lower in South African blacks when compared with South African whites. In this regard, recent studies in the West Indies showed that lower adiponectin has strong genetic inheritance among multiple generations of these populations [55]. These studies implicate alterations in proinflammatory markers and adipocytokines in the pathogenesis of CVD and type 2 diabetes in black PAD.…”

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Adiponectin, Leptin, and BMI Among Adolescents in Taiwan: A Multivariate Twin/Sibling Analysis

“…Several studies also showed that genetic loci (Menzaghi et al, 2007;Rankinen et al, 2006) other than LEP and APM1 genes were implicated to be linked to or associated with the circulating levels of leptin or adiponectin, and the main influences of these adipokine levels remain largely unknown. Previous studies in families reported significant genetic influences on the variation of the circulating levels of leptin (Bayoumi et al, 2007;Livshits et al, 2005) and adiponectin (Butte et al, 2005;Chuang et al, 2004;Comuzzie et al, 2001;Hicks et al, 2007;Lindsay et al, 2003;Miljkovic-Gacic et al, 2007). Nevertheless, heritability estimated from family studies might be confounded by the influences from shared environment and hence overestimate heritability.…”