Association of a leucine(7)-to-proline(7) polymorphism in the signal peptide of neuropeptide Y with high serum cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels

High serum levels of total and LDL cholesterol are important risk factors in the development of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. Cholesterol metabolism is affected by nutritional, environmental and genetic factors. Neuropeptide Y (NPY), which is widely expressed in both the central and peripheral nervous systems, has an important role in the hypothalamic regulation of energy balance by stimulating food intake and favoring energy storage through increased lipoprotein lipase activity in white adipose tissue. As a part of ongoing study of the genetic basis of obesity, we screened the NPY gene for sequence variants. We report here the identification of a common Leu(7)-to-Pro(7) polymorphism in the signal peptide of NPY. Presence of this Pro(7) in NPY was associated with higher serum levels of total and LDL cholesterol in obese subjects participating in two independent Finnish and Dutch studies. Furthermore, normal-weight Finns with Pro(7) also had higher serum levels of total and LDL cholesterol than did subjects with Leu(7)/Leu(7), as analyzed in three subsequent determinations at 5-year intervals during a 10-year follow-up period. The NPY polymorphism was not associated with higher cholesterol levels in normal-weight Dutch. Our study provides evidence that NPY is linked to cholesterol metabolism and that the polymorphism producing Pro(7) in NPY is one of the strongest genetic factors identified thus far affecting serum cholesterol, particularly in obese subjects.