OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have reported the existence of marked sexual dimorphism in serum leptin levels in humans, with women having approximately three times the levels of men. As we have shown for other measures of adiposity, such sexual dimorphism can arise from a special case of genotype by environment interaction, that of genotype by sex interaction. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Using maximum likelihood-based variance decomposition techniques, we examined the genetic and environmental architecture of sexual dimorphism in serum leptin levels in 1147 Mexican Americans from the San Antonio Family Heart Study. RESULTS: Both the genetic and environmental variances for this trait differed significantly between the sexes (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively), with women displaying larger values for both components. We found significant evidence that different genes influence variation in serum leptin levels between the two sexes (p = 0.05). Furthermore, this pattern of sexual dimorphism in serum leptin levels persisted even after accounting for the effects of either the percentage of body fat or total body fat. However, this pattern of sexual dimorphism was eliminated after accounting for the effects of testosterone. DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that the sexual dimorphism seen in leptin levels is not simply explained as differences in total adiposity between the sexes. We conclude that the genes, which influence variation in serum leptin levels, are differentially expressed depending on sex, and that the sexes also show differences in response of the expression of this obesity-related trait to unmeasured residual effects.
OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have reported the existence of marked sexual dimorphism in serum leptin levels in humans, with women having approximately three times the levels of men. As we have shown for other measures of adiposity, such sexual dimorphism can arise from a special case of genotype by environment interaction, that of genotype by sex interaction. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Using maximum likelihood-based variance decomposition techniques, we examined the genetic and environmental architecture of sexual dimorphism in serum leptin levels in 1147 Mexican Americans from the San Antonio Family Heart Study. RESULTS: Both the genetic and environmental variances for this trait differed significantly between the sexes (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively), with women displaying larger values for both components. We found significant evidence that different genes influence variation in serum leptin levels between the two sexes (p = 0.05). Furthermore, this pattern of sexual dimorphism in serum leptin levels persisted even after accounting for the effects of either the percentage of body fat or total body fat. However, this pattern of sexual dimorphism was eliminated after accounting for the effects of testosterone. DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that the sexual dimorphism seen in leptin levels is not simply explained as differences in total adiposity between the sexes. We conclude that the genes, which influence variation in serum leptin levels, are differentially expressed depending on sex, and that the sexes also show differences in response of the expression of this obesity-related trait to unmeasured residual effects.
Authors: Steven Stone; Victor Abkevich; Steven C Hunt; Alexander Gutin; Deanna L Russell; Chris D Neff; Robyn Riley; Georges C Frech; Charles H Hensel; Srikanth Jammulapati; Jennifer Potter; David Sexton; Thanh Tran; Drew Gibbs; Diana Iliev; Richard Gress; Brian Bloomquist; John Amatruda; Peter M M Rae; Ted D Adams; Mark H Skolnick; Donna Shattuck Journal: Am J Hum Genet Date: 2002-04-15 Impact factor: 11.025
Authors: Y-F Chiu; L-M Chuang; H-Y Kao; K-C Shih; M-W Lin; W-J Lee; T Quertermous; J D Curb; I Chen; B L Rodriguez; C A Hsiung Journal: Hum Genet Date: 2010-08-20 Impact factor: 4.132
Authors: Lillian B Brown; Elizabeth A Streeten; Jay R Shapiro; Daniel McBride; Alan R Shuldiner; Patricia A Peyser; Braxton D Mitchell Journal: Osteoporos Int Date: 2005-07-05 Impact factor: 4.507
Authors: Fangwen Rao; Stephane Chiron; Zhiyun Wei; Maple M Fung; Yuqing Chen; Gen Wen; Srikrishna Khandrika; Michael G Ziegler; Beben Benyamin; Grant Montgomery; John B Whitfield; Nicholas G Martin; Jill Waalen; Bruce A Hamilton; Sushil K Mahata; Daniel T O'Connor Journal: Am J Hypertens Date: 2011-09-15 Impact factor: 2.689
Authors: John R Shaffer; Xiaojing Wang; Daniel W McNeil; Robert J Weyant; Richard Crout; Mary L Marazita Journal: Caries Res Date: 2015-01-22 Impact factor: 4.056
Authors: Venkata S Voruganti; Matthew J Jorgensen; Jay R Kaplan; Kylie Kavanagh; Larry L Rudel; Ryan Temel; Lynn A Fairbanks; Anthony G Comuzzie Journal: Am J Primatol Date: 2013-01-11 Impact factor: 2.371
Authors: Duanduan Ma; Mary F Feitosa; Jemma B Wilk; Jason M Laramie; Kai Yu; Catherine Leiendecker-Foster; Richard H Myers; Michael A Province; Ingrid B Borecki Journal: Hypertension Date: 2009-02-09 Impact factor: 10.190
Authors: Jiankang Liu; Kenneth R Butler; Sarah G Buxbaum; Jung Hye Sung; Brenda W Campbell; Herman A Taylor Journal: Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) Date: 2009-05-16 Impact factor: 3.478
Authors: M C Zillikens; M Yazdanpanah; L M Pardo; F Rivadeneira; Y S Aulchenko; B A Oostra; A G Uitterlinden; H A P Pols; C M van Duijn Journal: Diabetologia Date: 2008-10-07 Impact factor: 10.122