Association of the NEGR1 rs2815752 with obesity and related traits in Pakistani females

Abstract

Introduction: The variant NEGR1 rs2815752 has recently been linked with obesity in Caucasians. However, a very limited number of studies have examined the association of the NEGR1 rs2815752 with overweight/obesity in non-Caucasians with no such study ever performed in Pakistani population. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to seek the association of the rs2815752 with overweight, obesity, and related traits in Pakistanis.

Subjects and methods: The study involved 112 overweight/control pairs (total 224) and 194 obese/control pairs (total 388). Anthropometric parameters were measured by employing standard procedures. Metabolic parameters were determined by biochemical assays. Behavioral information was collected through a questionnaire. The rs2815752 was genotyped via TaqMan allelic discrimination assay. Regression analyses were employed to analyze the data in SPSS software.

Results: The study revealed significant gender-specific association of the rs2815752 with obesity (OR 3.03; CI 1.19–7.72, p = 0.020) and some obesity-related anomalous anthropometric traits (weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, and abdominal and supra-iliac skinfold thicknesses) in females according to dominant model (h = 0.023). However, no association of the rs2815752 with obesity-related behavioral and metabolic parameters was observed.

Conclusion: The NEGR1 rs2815752 may be associated with obese phenotype and some of the related anthropometric traits in Pakistani females.

Keywords:

• Genetic association
• NEGR1 rs2815752
• neuronal growth regulator 1
• obesity
• overweight
• single nucleotide polymorphism

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Mr. Saad Mirza, Ms. Soma Rahmani, Ms. Ayesha Sultana, and Mr. Adil Bhatti for their contribution in sample collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a recurring grant given by the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, Pakistan; and by a research grant awarded by the Higher Education Commission, Pakistan (Ref. No. 5740/Sindh/NRPU/R&D/HEC/2016). The funding bodies did not play any role in the design of the study, sample collection, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation, or in writing the manuscript.

Notes on contributors

Sobia Rana

Sobia Rana, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, Pakistan.

Maha Mobin

Maha Mobin, M.Phil., is a junior research fellow at the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, Pakistan.