GALNT2 mRNA levels are associated with serum triglycerides in humans

Atherogenic dyslipidemia, characterized by high triglycerides (TG) and low high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol levels, is a feature of patients with insulin resistance, obesity, and type 2 diabetes (T2D) [1] and plays a major role in shaping the risk of cardiovascular disease. Both TG and HDL-cholesterol serum concentrations are under the control of both environmental factors and up to 95 genetic loci, unraveled by a very large genome-wide association study (GWAs) in approximately 100,000 individuals [2]. Among these loci is GALNT2, which encode for ppGal-NAc-T2, involved in O-linked glycosylation. Similarly, studies in rodents have shown that liver GALNT2 expression modulates HDL-cholesterol concentrations [2]. Based on such studies, it is conceivable that GALNT2 expression changes play a role on TG and/or HDL-cholesterol levels. To gain further insights about this hypothesis, GALNT2 expression was measured in peripheral white blood cells (PWBC), from 224 individuals with a wide range of TG and HDL-cholesterol levels, as well as other metabolic parameters and clinical conditions.