This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a related Letter to the Editor Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by López-Bermejo, A. Articles by Ibáñez, L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by López-Bermejo, A. Articles by Ibáñez, L. Related Collections Pediatric Endocrinology Metabolism

The Association between the FTO Gene and Fat Mass in Humans Develops by the Postnatal Age of Two Weeks

Diabetes, Endocrinology and Nutrition Unit (A.L.-B.), Dr. Josep Trueta Hospital, 17007 Girona, Spain; Department of Paediatrics (C.J.P., D.B.D.), University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, United Kingdom; Endocrinology Unit (M.D., G.S., L.I.), Sant Joan de Déu Children’s Hospital, University of Barcelona, 08950 Esplugues, Barcelona, Spain; and Department of Woman and Child (F.d.Z.), University of Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Lourdes Ibáñez, M.D., Ph.D., Endocrinology Unit, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona, Passeig de Sant Joan de Déu, 2, 08950 Esplugues, Barcelona, Spain. E-mail: libanez{at}hsjdbcn.org.

Objective: Little is known about the genetic determinants of fat mass around birth. We hypothesized that the common rs9939609 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in FTO is associated with fat mass and metabolic parameters in neonates.

Design: We conducted a cross-sectional, hospital-based study.

Patients: Patients included 234 full-term, healthy newborns [122 girls and 112 boys; gestational age (mean, range), 39.0 (37.0–42.0) wk; birth weight, 3.2 (1.9–4.2) kg].

Methods: Cord-blood insulin, IGF-I, IGF-binding protein-1, adiponectin, and visfatin were measured by specific immunoassays. Body composition was assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry at about 13 d (range, 9–20 d). Genotyping of rs9939609 was achieved by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

Results: The rs9939609 SNP in FTO was not associated with birth weight; however, it was associated with serum visfatin (P < 0.001), with weight and ponderal index at age 2 wk (P < 0.05), and with total, truncal, and abdominal fat (P < 0.05 to P = 0.01), so that AA homozygotes had 37% higher plasma visfatin concentration and 17, 20, and 17% higher total, truncal, and abdominal fat mass, respectively, than T-carrier neonates.

Conclusion: Our findings support a role of the common rs9939609 SNP in FTO gene in the early stages of fat accretion in humans and disclose novel associations between this SNP and both serum visfatin and abdominal fat mass in neonates.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. S.F. Doney, J. Dannfald, C. H. Kimber, L. A. Donnelly, E. Pearson, A. D. Morris, and C. N.A. Palmer The FTO Gene Is Associated With an Atherogenic Lipid Profile and Myocardial Infarction in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: A Genetics of Diabetes Audit and Research Study in Tayside Scotland (Go-DARTS) Study Circ Cardiovasc Genet, June 1, 2009; 2(3): 255 - 259. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Bouchard Childhood obesity: are genetic differences involved? Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, May 1, 2009; 89(5): 1494S - 1501S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Hakanen, O. T. Raitakari, T. Lehtimaki, N. Peltonen, K. Pahkala, L. Sillanmaki, H. Lagstrom, J. Viikari, O. Simell, and T. Ronnemaa FTO Genotype Is Associated with Body Mass Index after the Age of Seven Years But Not with Energy Intake or Leisure-Time Physical Activity J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., April 1, 2009; 94(4): 1281 - 1287. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. K. Ong, B. Diderholm, G. Salzano, D. Wingate, I. A. Hughes, J. MacDougall, C. L. Acerini, and D. B. Dunger Pregnancy Insulin, Glucose, and BMI Contribute to Birth Outcomes in Nondiabetic Mothers Diabetes Care, November 1, 2008; 31(11): 2193 - 2197. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. I. F. Blakemore and P. Froguel Is Obesity Our Genetic Legacy? J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., November 1, 2008; 93(11_Supplement_1): s51 - s56. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Meas, S. Deghmoun, P. Armoogum, C. Alberti, and C. Levy-Marchal Consequences of Being Born Small for Gestational Age on Body Composition: An 8-Year Follow-Up Study J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., October 1, 2008; 93(10): 3804 - 3809. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Ibanez, G. Sebastiani, A. Lopez-Bermejo, M. Diaz, M. D. Gomez-Roig, and F. de Zegher Gender Specificity of Body Adiposity and Circulating Adiponectin, Visfatin, Insulin, and Insulin Growth Factor-I at Term Birth: Relation to Prenatal Growth J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., July 1, 2008; 93(7): 2774 - 2778. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]