Contribution of Myostatin gene polymorphisms to normal variation in lean mass, fat mass and peak BMD in Chinese male offspring

Aim: Myostatin gene is a member of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) family that negatively regulates skeletal muscle growth. Genetic polymorphisms in Myostatin were found to be associated with the peak bone mineral density (BMD) in Chinese women. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Myostatin played a role in the normal variation in peak BMD, lean mass (LM), and fat mass (FM) of Chinese men. Methods: Four hundred male-offspring nuclear families of Chinese Han ethnic group were recruited. Anthropometric measurements, including the peak BMD, body LM and FM were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) studied were tag-SNPs selected by sequencing. Both rs2293284 and +2278G>A were genotyped using TaqMan assay, and rs3791783 was genotyped with PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. The associations of the SNPs with anthropometric variations were analyzed using the quantitative transmission disequilibrium test (QTDT). Results: Using QTDT to detect within-family associations, neither single SNP nor haplotype was found to be associated with peak BMD at any bone site. However, rs3791783 was found to be significantly associated with fat mass of the trunk (P<0.001). Moreover, for within-family associations, haplotypes AGG, AAA, and TGG were found to be significantly associated with the trunk fat mass (all P<0.001). Conclusion: Our results suggest that genetic variation within Myostatin may play a role in regulating the variation in fat mass in Chinese males. Additionally, the Myostatin gene may be a candidate that determines body fat mass in Chinese men.