Enzyme polymorphism and clinical variability of diseases: study of acid phosphatase locus 1 (ACP1) in obese subjects.

The ACP1A allele of erythrocyte acid phosphatase (ACP1) has a lower enzymatic activity when compared to other ACP1 alleles and is associated with maximal rate of body growth during intrauterine life. In three different samples of obese subjects (total number = 218). ACP1A was associated with extreme body mass deviations. No difference in ACP1 allele distribution was observed between obese and nonobese subjects. These data suggest that a genetically determined variability of ACP1 influences the degree of obesity, but only when obesity itself has been triggered by some other factors.