Genetic polymorphisms of human beta-adrenergic receptor genes and their association with obesity.

The prevalent rates of overweight and obesity are steadily increasing all over the world. Previous studies of some candidate genes have indicated that most of the genes are associated with obesity in human adipose tissue. As much as 40% of the variations in body mass could be attributed to genetic difference. The beta-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR) plays a major role in the regulation of energy balance in humans. A high sympathetic nervous system activity has been shown to be associated with obesity and is believed to have pathogenetic relevance. Several common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) including Gly389Arg in beta(1)-AR, Gln27Glu in beta(2)-AR, and Trp64Arg in beta(3)-AR in humans could alter receptor function and these variations of beta-ARs were shown to have certain association with obesity. Here we summarize the genetic polymorphisms of human beta-ARs and their potential impacts to obesity.