Association of the acid phosphatase (ACP1) gene with triglyceride levels in obese women

The acid phosphatase (ACP1) locus codes for a low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMPTP) that is found ubiquitously in human tissues. The *A allele of the ACP1 gene is associated with lower total enzymatic activity than the *B and *C alleles. An association between the *A allele and extreme values of body-mass-index (BMI) and dyslipidemia has previously been described in several samples of obese subjects from the Italian population. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between ACP1 *A allele genotypes (*A/*A, *A/*B, and *A/*C) and non-*A allele genotypes (*B/*B, *B/*C, and *C/*C) and metabolic variables in 277 Caucasian post-menopausal subjects consisting of 82 non-obese subjects (BMI ≤ 29), 60 moderately obese (BMI 30-34) and 135 very obese (BMI ≥ 35) subjects. ACP1 genotypes were found to be significantly associated with total cholesterol (p ≤ 0.002) and triglyceride (p ≤ 0.001) levels in the obese and very obese women only. The significantly lower levels of triglycerides in *A carriers in this group suggest a protective effect of the *A allele against hypertriglyceridemia. It has been unclear why some individuals who gain weight develop dyslipidemia and other aspects of the metabolic syndrome while others do not. The present study suggests that those who gain weight and carry the ACP1 *A allele may be partially protected against developing the metabolic syndrome. The confirmation of ACP1 as a modifier gene of the metabolic complications could open the door to the prevention of the lethal complications of obesity.