Genetic variation in adipokine genes and risk of colorectal cancer
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Mechanism of Regulation of Adipocyte Numbers in Adult Organisms Through Differentiation and Apoptosis Homeostasis
Published on: June 3, 2016
Sonali Pechlivanis1, Justo Lorenzo Bermejo, Barbara Pardini
1Division of Molecular Genetic Epidemiology C050, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
Objective:
Obesity has been related to an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Adipokines produced by the adipose tissue are directly linked to obesity and may thus contribute to the pathogenesis of CRC. We hypothesized that potentially functional polymorphisms in the adipokine genes leptin (LEP), leptin receptor (LEPR), resistin (RETN), and adiponectin (ADIPOQ) may be associated with CRC.
Design And Methods:
We studied the association of four putatively functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with CRC risk using a hospital-based study design with 702 cases and 752 controls from the Czech Republic. We used likelihood ratio tests to select the best model to represent the relationship between genotypes and risk of CRC. Age-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) under the best model were calculated for each SNP. Previous genotyping data on insulin (INS)-related genes were used to explore interactions between genes in obesity- and diabetes-related pathways by using two independent methods, logistic regression, and multifactor-dimensionality reduction.
Results:
A trend to associate between the RETN SNP rs1862513 (C-420G) and CRC risk was observed (per allele OR 1.18, 95% confidence interval (0.99-1.40). Statistically, significant interactions were observed between the INS SNP rs3842754 (+1127INSPstI) genotypes and both the LEPR SNP rs1137101 (Q223R) and the ADIPOQ SNP rs266729 (C-11374G) genotypes.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that variants in the adipokine genes may affect CRC risk in combination with variants in diabetes-related genes.
More Related Videos
06:22Isolation of Viable Adipocytes and Stromal Vascular Fraction from Human Visceral Adipose Tissue Suitable for RNA Analysis and Macrophage Phenotyping
Published on: October 27, 2020
09:20An Adipocyte Cell Culture Model to Study the Impact of Protein and Micro-RNA Modulation on Adipocyte Function
Published on: May 4, 2021
Related Concept Videos
Pharmacogenetic Phenotypes: Alterations in Pharmacokinetics, Drug Targets and Biologic Milieu
Pharmacogenomics: Identification of New Drug Targets
Pharmacogenetics of Drug Targets: β₂-Adrenergic Receptors, Apo E, Thymidylate Synthase
Genetic Variation
Genes exist in different versions called alleles, which...
Comparing Copy Number Variations and SNPs
Copy number variations or CNVs are the structural variations that cover more than 1kb of DNA sequence. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), on the other hand, is a single nucleotide change or a point mutation that is found in more than 1%...
Principles of Pharmacogenetics: Types of Genetic Variants