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Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Targeted Next-generation Sequencing and Bioinformatics Pipeline to Evaluate Genetic Determinants of Constitutional Disease
Published on: April 4, 2018
CNV analysis and mutation screening indicate an important role for the NPY4R gene in human obesity
Evi Aerts1, Sigri Beckers1, Doreen Zegers1
1Centre of Medical Genetics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Objective:
Genome-wide copy number variation (CNV) analyses have associated the 10q11.22 CNV with obesity. As the NPY4R gene is the most interesting candidate gene in this region, it was hypothesized that both genetic and structural variation in NPY4R might be implicated in the pathogenesis of obesity.
Methods:
In the first part of this study, 326 children and adolescents with obesity and 298 healthy lean individuals were screened for CNV in the NPY4R-containing chr.10q11.22 region. In the second part of this study, a mutation screen for variants in the NPY4R coding region was performed in 356 children and adolescents with obesity and 337 healthy lean adults.
Results:
Our CNV analysis demonstrated a significantly higher frequency of NPY4R containing 10q11.22 CNV loss in the patient population (P = 0.0003), while CNV gain in this region was more prevalent in the control population (P = 0.031). Mutation analysis resulted in the identification of 15 rare non-synonymous heterozygous variants. For two variants that could only be identified in the patient population, receptor dysfunction and thus a pathogenic effect were demonstrated.
Conclusions:
In conclusion, these data support an essential role for genetic and structural variation within the NPY4R gene in the pathogenesis of obesity.
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