A large international study has identified three new gene variants associated with body mass index (BMI) levels in adults

Scientists uncovered three novel signals, from the genes TOMM40-APOE-APOC1, SREBF2 and NTRK2) that were significantly associated with BMI in adults. All had previously been linked to other important disorders. The APOE locus is well known to be involved in blood lipid regulation and circulation, and plays an important role in Alzheimer's disease. The SREBF2 gene is in the same family as SREBF1, linked to type 2 diabetes in another CardioChip study. Finally, NTRK2 codes for a receptor of the BDNF protein, which is known to be related to BMI and is associated with the eating disorder anorexia. The team was able to test for conditional associations within genes - independent signals from within the same gene locus. In particular, the researchers discovered that two genes, BDNF and MC4R, each harbor two independent signals for BMI. Both genes were among eight genes previously associated with BMI that the current study was able to replicate, including FTO, SH2B1 and COL4A3BP-HMGCR.