Circulating ACE is a predictor of weight loss maintenance not only in overweight and obese women, but also in men

Abstract

, on behalf of Diogenes consortium 14 BACKGROUND: Circulating angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) was identified as a predictor of weight loss maintenance in overweight/obese women of the Diogenes project. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether ACE acted also as a predictor in men of the Diogenes study and to compare it with that in women. DESIGN: Subjects, who lost X8% of body weight induced by low-caloric diet in an 8-week weight loss period, were assigned to weight loss maintenance with dietary intervention for 6 months. SUBJECTS: 125 overweight/obese healthy men from eight European countries who completed whole intervention. MEASUREMENTS: Concentrations and activity of serum ACE at baseline and after the 8-week weight loss, in addition to anthropometric and physiological parameters. RESULTS: Serum ACE concentration decreased by 11.3±10.6% during the weight loss period in men. A greater reduction is associated with less body weight regain during the maintenance period (r ¼ 0.227, P ¼ 0.012). ACE change was able to predict a weight regain p20% after 6 months, with an odds ratio of 1.59 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09 --2.33, P ¼ 0.016) for every 10% reduction, which was independent of body mass index and weight loss. The prediction power was weaker in men than in women, but without a significant sex difference (P ¼ 0.137). In pooled subjects (N ¼ 218), the odds ratio was 1.96 (95% CI: 1.46 --2.64, Po0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A greater reduction of ACE during weight loss is favorable for weight maintenance in both men and women. This can offer useful information for personalized advice to improve weight loss maintenance. It also confirms the role of ACE in the metabolic pathways of weight regulation.

Gender-specific genetic associations of polymorphisms in ACE, AKR1C2, FTO and MMP2 with weight gain over a 10-year period

“…D-allele carriers have a higher mean plasma ACE concentration than I-allele carriers (Rigat et al 1990). Interestingly, a change in ACE plasma concentration during weight loss might predict the risk for weight regain (Wang et al 2012). It is tempting to speculate that D-allele carriers can more easily reduce their plasma ACE levels during weight loss, which is favorable for weight maintenance and would be in line with our results.…”

“…Preferably, SNPs were considered that had earlier been shown to be associated with relevant phenotypes, such as BMI or body composition. Polymorphisms in angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO), aldo-keto reductase 1C2 (AKR1C2), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 4 (TIMP4) and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2) were chosen as candidate genes for weight gain, also based on previous research Wang et al 2012). Genotyping was performed using commercially available TaqMan SNP genotyping assays from Applied Biosystems (Foster City, CA, USA).…”

“…Polymorphisms in the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene have been found to be associated with body weight, body mass index (BMI), overweight and obesity (Wang et al 2012). Recent data suggest that the renin-angiotensin system might be involved in the pathophysiology of obesity and associated hypertension (Darimont et al 1994).…”

Human Biology of Weight Maintenance after Weight Loss

“…Assuming a threshold concentration for weight regain, both the change in plasma level during weight loss and the rate of reversal based on the homeostatic framework during the follow-up period would reflect on the risk for weight regain. A good example is ACE, of which a fold change of <0.85 during weight loss in women was found to be a strong predictor of subsequent weight maintenance [57,59], which recently has been confirmed in men [60]. Leptin is also one of the factors that can show this return effect [57].…”

Genetic Predictors of ≥5% Weight Loss by Multidisciplinary Advice to Severely Obese Subjects

“…We [16] ), and obesity risk in the knockout mouse (GPRC5B [17] ). In total, 25 genes with 30 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected (full list in suppl.…”