Genome-wide analyses of multiple obesity-related cytokines and hormones informs biology of cardiometabolic traits

BACKGROUND: A complex set of perturbations occur in cytokines and hormones in the etiopathogenesis of obesity and related cardiometabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes (T2D). Evidence for the genetic regulation of these cytokines and hormones is limited, particularly in African-ancestry populations. In order to improve our understanding of the biology of cardiometabolic traits, we investigated the genetic architecture of a large panel of obesity- related cytokines and hormones among Africans with replication analyses in African Americans. METHODS: We performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in 4432 continental Africans, enrolled from Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria as part of the Africa America Diabetes Mellitus (AADM) study, for 13 obesity-related cytokines and hormones, including adipsin, glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL1-RA), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), leptin, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), resistin, visfatin, insulin, glucagon, and ghrelin. Exact and local replication analyses were conducted in African Americans (n = 7990). The effects of sex, body mass index (BMI), and T2D on results were investigated through stratified analyses. RESULTS: GWAS identified 39 significant (P value < 5 × 10(−8)) loci across all 13 traits. Notably, 14 loci were African-ancestry specific. In this first GWAS for adipsin and ghrelin, we detected 13 and 4 genome-wide significant loci respectively. Stratified analyses by sex, BMI, and T2D showed a strong effect of these variables on detected loci. Eight novel loci were successfully replicated: adipsin (3), GIP (1), GLP-1 (1), and insulin (3). Annotation of these loci revealed promising links between these adipocytokines and cardiometabolic outcomes as illustrated by rs201751833 for adipsin and blood pressure and locus rs759790 for insulin level and T2D in lean individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Our study identified genetic variants underlying variation in multiple adipocytokines, including the first loci for adipsin and ghrelin. We identified population differences in variants associated with adipocytokines and highlight the importance of stratification for discovery of loci. The high number of African-specific loci detected emphasizes the need for GWAS in African-ancestry populations, as these loci could not have been detected in other populations. Overall, our work contributes to the understanding of the biology linking adipocytokines to cardiometabolic traits. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13073-021-00971-2.