Department of Sports Medicine & Nutrition, University School of Physical Education, ul. Paderewskiego 35, Wrocław, Poland.
Endocrine. 2011 Feb;39(1):62-8. doi: 10.1007/s12020-010-9412-7. Epub 2010 Nov 3.
Melanocortin plays an important role in the energy balance in humans. Actions of melanocortin are exerted through activation of five receptors among which the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) is especially abundant within the central nervous system (CNS). It has been proved that genetic variations of the MC4R gene are associated with the energy intake. Recent data has suggested that MC4R gene polymorphism might influence physical activity/energy expenditure as well. Our aim was to search for associations between MC4R polymorphisms and the level of physical activity. We genotyped MC4R in a population-based cohort of 311 men. The level of physical activity was determined with use of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. We have found that physical effort expressed as log METs-min/week (corrected for age, BMI and educational status) was 6.61 in men declaring low, 7.56-moderate and 8.96-high level of physical activity. We have not found any associations between the C-2745T MC4R polymorphism and the level of physical activity (P = 0.53). There were no interactions between the level of physical activity and the C-2745T polymorphisms either (P = 0.47). We conclude that the C-2745T genetic polymorphism of the MC4R gene does not influence the level of physical activity in healthy, adult men.
黑皮质素在人类能量平衡中发挥着重要作用。黑皮质素通过激活五种受体发挥作用，其中黑皮质素-4 受体（MC4R）在中枢神经系统（CNS）中尤为丰富。已经证明，MC4R 基因的遗传变异与能量摄入有关。最近的数据表明，MC4R 基因多态性也可能影响体力活动/能量消耗。我们的目的是寻找 MC4R 多态性与体力活动水平之间的关联。我们在一个基于人群的 311 名男性队列中对 MC4R 进行了基因分型。使用国际体力活动问卷来确定体力活动水平。我们发现，体力活动水平以 log METs-min/周表示（校正年龄、BMI 和教育状况），在低体力活动水平的男性中为 6.61，在中体力活动水平的男性中为 7.56，在高体力活动水平的男性中为 8.96。我们没有发现 C-2745T MC4R 多态性与体力活动水平之间存在任何关联（P=0.53）。体力活动水平与 C-2745T 多态性之间也没有相互作用（P=0.47）。我们得出结论，MC4R 基因的 C-2745T 遗传多态性不会影响健康成年男性的体力活动水平。
