Association of lipid metabolism-related metabolites with overweight/obesity based on the FTO rs1421085

Abstract

Globally, obesity is a severe health issue. A more precise and practical approach is required to enhance clinical care and drug development. The FTO (fat mass and obesity-associated) gene variant rs1421085 is strongly associated with an increased susceptibility to obesity in numerous populations; however, the precise mechanism behind this association concerning metabolomics is still not understood. This study aims to examine the association between metabolites and obesity-related anthropometric traits based on the variant FTO rs1421085. This study was based on a case-control design involving a total of 542 participants including overweight/obese cases and healthy controls. The blood samples were collected from all the participants. The isolated serum samples were subjected to untargeted metabolomics using GC-MS. The isolated DNA samples were genotyped for the FTO rs1421085 variant. Initially, a total of 42 metabolites were identified on GC-MS, which were subjected to further association analyses. The study observed a significant association of two metabolites, glycerol and 2,3-dihydroxypropyl stearate with FTO gene variant rs1421085 and obesity-related anthropometric traits including % BF, WHtR, WC, and HC. The CT genotype of FTO rs1421085 may greatly increase the risk of overweight/obesity by changing the lipid metabolism-related metabolites. Therefore, this study highlights the significance of biochemical networks in the progression of obesity in carriers of the FTO rs1421085 risk genotype.