Epigenome-wide association analysis revealed that SOCS3 methylation influences the effect of cumulative stress on obesity

Publication date: Available online 5 November 2016
Source:Biological Psychology
Author(s): Ke Xu, Xinyu Zhang, Zuoheng Wang, Ying Hu, Rajita Sinha
Chronic stress has a significant impact on obesity. However, how stress influences obesity remains unclear. We conducted an epigenome-wide DNA methylation association analysis of obesity (N=510) and examined whether cumulative stress influenced the DNA methylation on body weight. We identified 20 CpG sites associated with body mass index at the false discovery rate q<0.05, including a novel site, cg18181703, in suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) gene (coefficient β=−0.0022, FDR q=4.94×10⁻⁵). The interaction between cg18181703 and cumulative adverse life stress contributed to variations in body weight (p=0.002). Individuals with at least five major life events and lower methylation of cg1818703 showed a 1.38-fold higher risk of being obese (95%CI: 1.17–1.76). Our findings suggest that aberrant in DNA methylation is associated with body weight and that methylation of SOCS3 moderates the effect of cumulative stress on obesity.



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