rs11108495 (CDK17): Body size trait variant

Key takeaways

• rs11108495, near CDK17, emerged as a suggestive body size signal in the first genome-wide study of Filipino anthropometric traits
• Evidence is preliminary, falling well below the conventional genome-wide significance threshold
• The finding comes from 1,792 Filipino women studied during a period of rapid dietary westernization
• GTEx data link this variant to slightly reduced CDK17 activity in whole blood tissue
• No lifestyle factors have been specifically connected to this variant in available research

What the research says A genome-wide association study (GWAS - a technique that simultaneously tests hundreds of thousands of genetic variants across the genome for statistical correlation with a trait) of 1,792 adult Filipino women from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey identified rs11108495, located near CDK17 (cyclin-dependent kinase 17) and the pseudogene RN7SKP11, among signals reaching suggestive evidence of association (P < 10^-5) with adiposity-related body size measures; this was the first GWAS of these traits in a Filipino cohort, a population undergoing rapid socioeconomic change and dietary westernization at the time of sampling. Separately, expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) data from GTEx v11, drawn from 953 donors with FDR < 0.05, indicate that the alternate allele at this locus is associated with modestly reduced CDK17 gene expression in whole blood tissue GTEx Portal.

Reported associations

• Anthropometric traits (BMI, body weight, waist circumference, and/or height): rs11108495 appeared among suggestive signals (P < 10^-5) in a GWAS of 1,792 adult Filipino women; the specific trait or traits driving the signal and the directionality and magnitude of the effect are not detailed in the available study excerpt.

Evidence quality The available evidence for rs11108495 rests entirely on a single GWAS of 1,792 Filipino women - a modest sample by contemporary genome-wide standards, where studies typically enroll tens to hundreds of thousands of participants. The association reached only a suggestive threshold (P < 10^-5), which falls substantially short of the conventional genome-wide significance level of P < 5×10^-8. No independent replication of this specific variant is described in the provided sources, and specific effect sizes - such as beta coefficients or the proportion of trait variance explained - are not reported in the available excerpt. The authors note that the cohort's rapidly changing environment may interact with genetic effects on body size, as demonstrated for other variants (MC4R, FTO, BDNF) in the same study, introducing additional interpretive complexity. Overall, the evidence for this variant is weak and preliminary and should not be treated as a confirmed association.

Tissue-specific expression effects

• CDK17: The alternate allele is associated with reduced expression in whole blood, based on GTEx v11 data from 953 donors (FDR < 0.05); the effect is small in absolute magnitude GTEx Portal.

Lifestyle considerations No lifestyle considerations on file for this variant.