Common polymorphisms in SOCS3 are not associated with body weight, insulin sensitivity or lipid profile in normal female twins

Aims/hypothesis Inhibition of signal transduction by suppressor of cytokine signalling-3 (SOCS-3) potentially influences resistance to insulin and leptin. The aim of this study was to test the association between three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) representative of common linkage disequilibrium clusters in SOCS3 (rs4969169, rs12953258 and rs8064821) and obesity measures, insulin sensitivity measures and serum lipids in the general population. Methods The three SNPs, which had rare allele frequencies >0.06, were genotyped in 2,777 female twins of European extraction (mean age 47.4±12.5 years) from the St Thomas' UK Adult Twin Registry (Twins UK). Results Minor allele frequencies were as follows: rs4969169=0.067, rs12953258=0.097 and rs8064821=0.101. Individual SOCS3 SNPs were not associated with general or central obesity, or with two indices of insulin sensitivity (homeostasis model assessment and insulin sensitivity measure). Conclusions/interpretation The results do not indicate that any of the three SNPs studied are associated with obesity, insulin measures or lipid measures.