Genome-wide analysis identifies an african-specific variant in SEMA4D associated with body mass index.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The prevalence of obesity varies between ethnic groups. No genome-wide association study (GWAS) for body mass index (BMI) has been conducted in continental Africans.

Methods

We performed a GWAS for BMI in 1,570 West Africans (WA). Replication was conducted in independent samples of WA (n = 1,411) and African Americans (AA) (n = 9,020).

Results

We identified a novel genome-wide significant African-specific locus for BMI (SEMA4D, rs80068415; minor allele frequency = 0.008, P = 2.10 × 10^-8 ). This finding was replicated in independent samples of WA (P = 0.013) and AA (P = 0.017). Individuals with obesity had higher serum SEMA4D levels compared to those without obesity (P < 0.0001), and elevated levels of serum SEMA4D were associated with increased ob

SUBMITTER: Chen G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5373947 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature