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.