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Identification of a weight loss-associated causal eQTL in MTIF3 and the effects of MTIF3 deficiency on human adipocyte function

Huang, Mi LU ; Coral, Daniel LU orcid ; Ardalani, Hamidreza LU ; Spégel, Peter LU ; Saadat, Alham ; Claussnitzer, Melina ; Mulder, Hindrik LU orcid ; Franks, Paul W LU and Kalamajski, Sebastian LU (2023) In eLife
Abstract
Genetic variation at the MTIF3 (Mitochondrial Translational Initiation Factor 3) locus has been robustly associated with obesity in humans, but the functional basis behind this association is not known. Here, we applied luciferase reporter assay to map potential functional variants in the haplotype block tagged by rs1885988 and used CRISPR-Cas9 to edit the potential functional variants to confirm the regulatory effects on MTIF3 expression. We further conducted functional studies on MTIF3-deficient differentiated human white adipocyte cell line (hWAs-iCas9), generated through inducible expression of CRISPR-Cas9 combined with delivery of synthetic MTIF3-targeting guide RNA. We demonstrate that rs67785913-centered DNA fragment (in LD with... (More)
Genetic variation at the MTIF3 (Mitochondrial Translational Initiation Factor 3) locus has been robustly associated with obesity in humans, but the functional basis behind this association is not known. Here, we applied luciferase reporter assay to map potential functional variants in the haplotype block tagged by rs1885988 and used CRISPR-Cas9 to edit the potential functional variants to confirm the regulatory effects on MTIF3 expression. We further conducted functional studies on MTIF3-deficient differentiated human white adipocyte cell line (hWAs-iCas9), generated through inducible expression of CRISPR-Cas9 combined with delivery of synthetic MTIF3-targeting guide RNA. We demonstrate that rs67785913-centered DNA fragment (in LD with rs1885988, r2 > 0.8) enhances transcription in a luciferase reporter assay, and CRISPR-Cas9-edited rs67785913 CTCT cells show significantly higher MTIF3 expression than rs67785913 CT cells. Perturbed MTIF3 expression led to reduced mitochondrial respiration and endogenous fatty acid oxidation, as well as altered expression of mitochondrial DNA-encoded genes and proteins, and disturbed mitochondrial OXPHOS complex assembly. Furthermore, after glucose restriction, the MTIF3 knockout cells retained more triglycerides than control cells. This study demonstrates an adipocyte function-specific role of MTIF3, which originates in the maintenance of mitochondrial function, providing potential explanations for why MTIF3 genetic variation at rs67785913 is associated with body corpulence and response to weight loss interventions. (Less)
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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
eLife
article number
12:e84168
publisher
eLife Sciences Publications
external identifiers
  • scopus:85150665996
  • pmid:36876906
ISSN
2050-084X
DOI
10.7554/eLife.84168
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0d27c1d5-2e63-4e4f-bbca-8f54b6fc30c6
date added to LUP
2023-04-28 13:35:56
date last changed
2023-07-29 03:00:02
@article{0d27c1d5-2e63-4e4f-bbca-8f54b6fc30c6,
  abstract     = {{Genetic variation at the MTIF3 (Mitochondrial Translational Initiation Factor 3) locus has been robustly associated with obesity in humans, but the functional basis behind this association is not known. Here, we applied luciferase reporter assay to map potential functional variants in the haplotype block tagged by rs1885988 and used CRISPR-Cas9 to edit the potential functional variants to confirm the regulatory effects on MTIF3 expression. We further conducted functional studies on MTIF3-deficient differentiated human white adipocyte cell line (hWAs-iCas9), generated through inducible expression of CRISPR-Cas9 combined with delivery of synthetic MTIF3-targeting guide RNA. We demonstrate that rs67785913-centered DNA fragment (in LD with rs1885988, r2 > 0.8) enhances transcription in a luciferase reporter assay, and CRISPR-Cas9-edited rs67785913 CTCT cells show significantly higher MTIF3 expression than rs67785913 CT cells. Perturbed MTIF3 expression led to reduced mitochondrial respiration and endogenous fatty acid oxidation, as well as altered expression of mitochondrial DNA-encoded genes and proteins, and disturbed mitochondrial OXPHOS complex assembly. Furthermore, after glucose restriction, the MTIF3 knockout cells retained more triglycerides than control cells. This study demonstrates an adipocyte function-specific role of MTIF3, which originates in the maintenance of mitochondrial function, providing potential explanations for why MTIF3 genetic variation at rs67785913 is associated with body corpulence and response to weight loss interventions.}},
  author       = {{Huang, Mi and Coral, Daniel and Ardalani, Hamidreza and Spégel, Peter and Saadat, Alham and Claussnitzer, Melina and Mulder, Hindrik and Franks, Paul W and Kalamajski, Sebastian}},
  issn         = {{2050-084X}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  publisher    = {{eLife Sciences Publications}},
  series       = {{eLife}},
  title        = {{Identification of a weight loss-associated causal eQTL in MTIF3 and the effects of MTIF3 deficiency on human adipocyte function}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.84168}},
  doi          = {{10.7554/eLife.84168}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}