High Olfactory Receptor-Rich 11q11 Copy Number in Girls and African American Children

Copy number variants (CNVs) provide numerous genetic differences between individuals, and they have been linked with multiple human diseases. Obesity is one of the highly heritable complex disorders, which is associated with copy number variance (CNV). A recent report shows that the 11q11 gene, a novel olfactory receptor, and its copy number variants are involved in the early onset of obesity. In the current study, we analyzed the 11q11 gene copy number variance (CNV) based on gender in White/European American (EA) and African American (AA) normal weight and overweight/obese children. Sixty-nine boys and fifty-eight girls between the ages of 6 and 10 years belonging to either EA or AA ethnicity were involved in this study. As per World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, each participant’s body weight and height were recorded. DNA was extracted from saliva, and the copy number variants for the 11q11 gene were measured using digital PCR. The descriptive analysis of the 11q11 copy number showed significantly more copies in girls compared to boys; similarly, AA participants had significantly increased CNV compared to EA. The normal weight (NW) and overweight/obese (OW/OB) girls were significantly less likely to belong to the low copy number variant (LCNV) group of 11q11 compared to boys; similarly, NW and OW/OB AA children were significantly less likely to belong to the LCNV group. The AA girls in LCNV had significantly higher BMI z-scores. Our findings suggest that the 11q11 copy number in children is race and gender-specific.