Genetic association analysis of polymorphisms in PSD3 gene with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and HDL cholesterol

Background The pleckstrin and Sec7 domain-containing 3 ( PSD3 ) gene has been linked to immune diseases. We examined whether the genetic variants within the PSD3 gene are associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level. Methods Multiple logistic regression model and linear regression model were used to examine the associations of 259 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the PSD3 gene with obesity and T2D as binary traits, and HDL level as a continuous trait using the Marshfield data, respectively. A replication study of obesity was conducted using the Health Aging and Body Composition (Health ABC) sample. Results 23SNPs were associated with obesity ( p p =3.97×10 −6 ). Of the 23SNPs, 20 were significantly associated with obesity in the meta-analysis of two samples ( p p =3.05×10 −3 ); while two SNPs (rs6983992 and rs7843239) were associated with both obesity and T2D ( p =0.0188 and 0.023 for obesity and p =8.47×10 −3 and 0.0128 for T2D, respectively). Furthermore, 11SNPs revealed associations with HDL level (top SNP rs13254772 with p =2.79×10 −3 ) in the Marshfield data; meanwhile rs7009615 was associated with both T2D ( p =0.038) and HDL level ( p =4.44×10 −3 ). In addition, haplotype analyses further supported the results of single SNP analysis. Conclusions Common variants in PSD3 were associated with obesity, T2D and HDL level. These findings add important new insights into the pathogenesis of obesity, T2D and HDL cholesterol.