BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study aimed to determine the heritability of serum alanine aminotransferase (S-ALT) and fasting serum insulin (fS-insulin) concentration as well as determine the association of these measures with liver fat content in young adult monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins. METHODS: Three hundred and thirteen individual twins were recruited from a population-based cohort (n = 4929). The study subjects represented a wide range of body mass indexes (BMI), were free of any diseases or regular medications and had an intake of less than two drinks of alcohol/day. To verify that S-ALT is a marker of liver fat, it was measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS) in 66 subjects. Heritability estimations were performed using BMI- and gender-adjusted values. RESULTS: Intra-pair correlations were significantly higher in the MZ twins than the DZ twins for both S-ALT (0.65 for MZ and 0.04 for DZ) and fS-insulin (0.58 and 0.34, respectively). Heritability of S-ALT was 55% and that of fS-insulin 61%. In the 66 subjects S-ALT (r = 0.70 for women and r = 0.50 for men, p < or = 0.01 for both) and fS-insulin (r = 0.58 and r = 0.59, respectively, p < or = 0.01 for both) concentrations correlated significantly with liver fat content. CONCLUSIONS: These twin data suggest that approximately 60% of the variation in S-ALT, a marker of liver fat content, is genetically determined.
BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study aimed to determine the heritability of serum alanine aminotransferase (S-ALT) and fasting serum insulin (fS-insulin) concentration as well as determine the association of these measures with liver fat content in young adult monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins. METHODS: Three hundred and thirteen individual twins were recruited from a population-based cohort (n = 4929). The study subjects represented a wide range of body mass indexes (BMI), were free of any diseases or regular medications and had an intake of less than two drinks of alcohol/day. To verify that S-ALT is a marker of liver fat, it was measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS) in 66 subjects. Heritability estimations were performed using BMI- and gender-adjusted values. RESULTS: Intra-pair correlations were significantly higher in the MZ twins than the DZ twins for both S-ALT (0.65 for MZ and 0.04 for DZ) and fS-insulin (0.58 and 0.34, respectively). Heritability of S-ALT was 55% and that of fS-insulin 61%. In the 66 subjects S-ALT (r = 0.70 for women and r = 0.50 for men, p < or = 0.01 for both) and fS-insulin (r = 0.58 and r = 0.59, respectively, p < or = 0.01 for both) concentrations correlated significantly with liver fat content. CONCLUSIONS: These twin data suggest that approximately 60% of the variation in S-ALT, a marker of liver fat content, is genetically determined.
Authors: Rohit Loomba; Nicholas Schork; Chi-Hua Chen; Ricki Bettencourt; Ana Bhatt; Brandon Ang; Phirum Nguyen; Carolyn Hernandez; Lisa Richards; Joanie Salotti; Steven Lin; Ekihiro Seki; Karen E Nelson; Claude B Sirlin; David Brenner Journal: Gastroenterology Date: 2015-08-20 Impact factor: 22.682
Authors: Michelle T Long; Ellen B Gurary; Joseph M Massaro; Jiantao Ma; Udo Hoffmann; Raymond T Chung; Emelia J Benjamin; Rohit Loomba Journal: Liver Int Date: 2018-09-25 Impact factor: 5.828
Authors: Jenny H D A van Beek; Marleen H M de Moor; Eco J C de Geus; Gitta H Lubke; Jacqueline M Vink; Gonneke Willemsen; Dorret I Boomsma Journal: Behav Genet Date: 2013-04-12 Impact factor: 2.805
Authors: Mary F Feitosa; Mary K Wojczynski; Kari E North; Qunyuan Zhang; Michael A Province; Jeffrey J Carr; Ingrid B Borecki Journal: Atherosclerosis Date: 2013-02-18 Impact factor: 5.162