Researchers identify genetic markers for testosterone, estrogen level regulation
A research study led by Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, in collaboration with a global consortium, has identified genetic markers that influence a protein involved in regulating estrogen and testosterone levels in the bloodstream. The results, published online in PLoS Genetics, also reveal that some of the genetic markers for this protein are near genes related to liver function, metabolism and type 2 diabetes, demonstrating an important genetic connection between the metabolic and reproductive systems in men and women.
Andrea D. Coviello, MD, assistant professor of medicine at BUSM and an endocrinologist at Boston Medical Center, is one of the paper's lead authors. This study was done in collaboration with the Framingham Heart Study and investigators from 15 international epidemiologic studies participating in the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genetic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium.
Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) is the key protein that carries testosterone and estrogen in the bloodstream in both men and women. As the main carrier of these sex hormones, SHBG helps to regulate their effects in different tissues and organs in the body. In addition to effects on reproduction in men and women through regulation of sex hormones, SHBG has been linked to many chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes and hormone-sensitive cancers such as breast and prostate.
Previous family studies have demonstrated that approximately 50 percent of the variation in SHBG concentrations in the bloodstream is inherited from parents, suggesting that SHBG levels are under significant genetic control. However, little has been known about the specific genes that influence SHBG levels.
Investigators examined human genomes from 21,791 men and women to determine which genes influence SHBG levels and validated the results from this genome-wide association study (GWAS) in an additional 7,046 men and women. They identified 12 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), or DNA sequence variations, associated with the concentration of SHBG circulating in the bloodstream. However, these SNPs combined explain only 16 percent of the variation of SHBG in men and eight percent in women, respectively, indicating that SHBG levels are affected by many other factors as well.
The results also showed that the SNPs that influence SHBG levels are near genes related to liver function, fat and carbohydrate metabolism and type 2 diabetes. In addition, there were genes that had stronger effects in one sex compared to the other.
"These findings underscore the connection between the reproductive system and metabolism in both men and women, and may help explain sex differences observed in some metabolic diseases, particularly type 2 diabetes," said Coviello.
More information: www.plosgenetics.o… pgen.1002805
Journal reference:
PLoS Genetics
Provided by
Boston University Medical Center
-
Testosterone and body fat are controlled by the same genes
Aug 05, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Marker helps predict thrombotic risk of hormonal contraceptives
Jun 08, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Testosterone concentrations in men affected by genetic makeup
Oct 06, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Why coffee protects against diabetes
Jan 13, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Polycystic ovarian syndrome ups risk of type 2 diabetes
Jun 22, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011
- More from Physics Forums - Independent Research
More news stories
Researchers develop model for better testing, targeting of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors
University of Minnesota Medical School researchers from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, in partnership with the University's Brain Tumor Program, have developed a new mouse model of malignant peripheral ...
Genetics
15 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
Researchers identify new circadian clock component
Northwestern University scientists have shown a gene involved in neurodegenerative disease also plays a critical role in the proper function of the circadian clock.
Genetics
May 16, 2013 |
3 / 5 (1) |
1
|
Returning genetic incidental findings without patient consent violates basic rights, experts say
Informed consent is the backbone of patient care. Genetic testing has long required patient consent and patients have had a "right not to know" the results. However, as 21st century medicine now begins to use the tools of ...
Genetics
May 16, 2013 |
5 / 5 (1) |
3
|
Ethicists provide framework supporting new recommendations on reporting incidental findings in gene sequencing
In a paper published in Science Express, a group of experts led by bioethicists in the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine provide a framework for the new American College of Medical Geneti ...
Genetics
May 16, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Experts urge caution over use of new genetic sequencing techniques
The use of genome-wide analysis (GWA), where the entirety of an individual's DNA is examined to look for the genomic mutations or variants which can cause health problems is a massively useful technology for diagnosing disease. ...
Genetics
May 16, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Study shows where scene context happens in our brain
In a remote fishing community in Venezuela, a lone fisherman sits on a cliff overlooking the southern Caribbean Sea. This man –– the lookout –– is responsible for directing his comrades on the water, ...
Monoclonal antibody appears effective and safe in asthma Phase IIa trial
A novel approach to obstructing the runaway inflammatory response implicated in some types of asthma has shown promise in a Phase IIa clinical trial, according to U. S. researchers.
New rice contamination reported in China
Authorities are investigating rice mills in southern China following tests that found almost half of the staple grain in one of the country's largest cities was contaminated with a toxic metal.
New tumour-killer shows great promise in suppressing cancers
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Lund University, Sweden, have bioengineered a novel molecule which has been proven to successfully kill tumour cells.
Analgesics prescribed more heavily to women than to men, study finds
Regardless of pain, social class or age, a woman is more likely to be prescribed pain-relieving drugs. A study published in Gaceta Sanitaria (Spanish health scientific journal) affirms that this phenomenon is inf ...
New factor to control oncogene-induced senescence
An article published on the journal Nature describes the major role that Pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) —an enzyme of cellular energy metabolism— plays in the regulation of the cellular senescence induce ...
