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Updated: May 31, 2026

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Published on: October 12, 2017
Novel locus FER is associated with serum HMW adiponectin levels
Lu Qi1, Claudia Menzaghi, Lucia Salvemini
1Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. nhlqi@channing.harvard.edu
Objective:
High molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin is a predominant isoform of circulating adiponectin and has been related to type 2 diabetes. Previous linkage studies suggest that different genetic components might be involved in determining HMW and total adiponectin levels.
Research Design And Methods:
We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of serum HMW adiponectin levels in individuals of European ancestry drawn from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) (N = 1,591). The single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified in the GWAS analysis were replicated in an independent cohort of Europeans (N = 626). We examined the associations of the identified variations with diabetes risk and metabolic syndrome.
Results:
We identified a novel locus near the FER gene (5q21) at a genome-wide significance level, best represented by SNP rs10447248 (P = 4.69 × 10(-8)). We also confirmed that variations near the adiponectin-encoding ADIPOQ locus (3q27) were related to serum HMW adiponectin levels. In addition, we found that FER SNP rs10447248 was related to HDL cholesterol levels (P = 0.009); ADIPOQ variation was associated with fasting glucose (P = 0.04), HDL cholesterol (P = 0.04), and a metabolic syndrome score (P = 0.002).
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that different loci may be involved in regulation of circulating HMW adiponectin levels and provide novel insight into the mechanisms that affect HMW adiponectin homeostasis.