Affiliations: Departamento de Genética, Instituto de
Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Caixa Postal
15053, 91501-970 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil | Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas,
Fundação Faculdade Federal de Ciências Médicas de
Porto Alegre, 90050-170 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil | Departamento de Estatística, Instituto de
Matemática, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento
Gonçalves, 9500, 91509-900 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Note: [] Corresponding author: Prof. Mara H. Hutz, Departamento de
Genética, Instituto de Biociências, UFRGS, Caixa Postal 15053,
91501-970 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. Tel.: +55 51 3308 6720; Fax: +55 51 3343
5850; E-mail: mara.hutz@ufrgs.br
Abstract: The CB1 cannabinoid receptor and its endogenous ligands, the
endocannabinoids, are involved in energy balance control, stimulating appetite
and increasing body weight in wasting syndromes. Different studies have
investigated the relationship between polymorphisms of the cannabinoid receptor
1 (CNR1) gene and obesity with conflicting results. In the present study, we
investigated the 1359G/A (rs1049353), 3813A/G (rs12720071) and 4895A/G
(rs806368) polymorphisms in the CNR1 gene in a Brazilian population of European
descent. To verify the association between these variants and obesity-related
traits in this population, 756 individuals were genotyped by PCR-RFLP methods.
The 4895G allele was associated with waist to hip ratio (WHR) (P = 0.014; P =
0.042 after Bonferroni correction). An additive effect with the GAA haplotype
was associated with WHR (P = 0.028), although this statistical significance
disappeared after Bonferroni correction (P = 0.084). No significant association
was observed between the genotypes of the 1359G/A and 3813A/G polymorphisms and
any of the quantitative variables investigated. Our findings suggest that CNR1
gene polymorphism is associated with central obesity in this Brazilian
population of European ancestry.
