Gender-Specific Association of a Perilipin Gene Haplotype with Obesity Risk in a White Population

Objective: Perilipin is a class of protein-coating lipid droplets in adipocytes and steroidogenic cells. Our purpose was to examine the association between common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the perilipin (PLIN) locus and obesity, as well as related phenotypes, in unrelated American adults. Research Methods and Procedures: Four PLIN SNPs (PLIN 6209T>C, 11482G>A, 13041A>G, and 14995A>T) were typed in 734 white subjects (373 men and 361 women) attending a residential lifestyle intervention program. The baseline anthropometric and biochemical measures were used. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2. Results: Multivariate analysis demonstrated that, in women, two of the SNPs (130…