Glucose-Raising Polymorphisms in the Human Clock Gene Cryptochrome 2 (CRY2) Affect Hepatic Lipid Content

Circadian rhythms govern vital functions. Their disruption provokes metabolic imbalance favouring obesity and type-2 diabetes. The aim of the study was to assess the role of clock genes in human prediabetes. To this end, genotype-phenotype associations of 121 common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) tagging ARNTL, ARNTL2, CLOCK, CRY1, CRY2, PER1, PER2, PER3, and TIMELESS were assessed in a study population of 1,715 non-diabetic individuals metabolically phenotyped by 5-point oral glucose tolerance tests. In subgroups, hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamps, intravenous glucose tolerance tests, and magnetic resonance imaging/spectroscopy were performed. None of the tested SNPs was associated with body fat content, insulin sensitivity, or insulin secretion. Four CRY2 SNPs were associated with fasting glycaemia, as reported earlier. Importantly, carriers of these SNPs’ minor alleles revealed elevated fasting glycaemia and, concomitantly, reduced liver fat content. In human liver tissue samples, CRY2 mRNA expression was directly associated with hepatic triglyceride content. Our data may point to CRY2 as a novel switch in hepatic fuel metabolism promoting triglyceride storage and, concomitantly, limiting glucose production. The anti-steatotic effects of the glucose-raising CRY2 alleles may explain why these alleles do not increase type-2 diabetes risk.