TREM2 has a significant, gender-specific, effect on human obesity.

ABSTRACT: Triggering Receptor Expressed On Myeloid Cells 2 (TREM2) is a membrane protein expressed on immune cells, involved in neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Recently, it was shown that TREM2 is expressed on lipid associated macrophages in adipose tissue, and that TREM2 knockout mice suffer from metabolic symptoms. Here, a computational study using public databases, brings direct evidence for the involvement of TREM2 in human obesity. First, we show a significant correlation between TREM2 expression levels and BMI in adipose tissues in samples from the GTEx database. This association was evident for males but not for females. Second, we identified in the UK Biobank cohort a coding SNP in TREM2 with a significant effect on BMI. Compared to previously identified SNPs associated with BMI, this

SUBMITTER: Reich T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9832124 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature