COG2 and metabolic syndrome: Variants of NPAS3, a neuronal transcription factor thought to be involved in brain tumor suppression, were found to be associated with 11 of the MetS phenotypes (Fatkg, Leankg, SubQF, TAF, REE, TG, TC, LDL-c, pulse, IL1b and IL-6), suggesting a pleitropic effect (Table 3).