Gene Variants may Increase Risk of Weight Gain

A recent study examines how gene variants can affect weight gain in some people.

Background information from the study showed that variations in FTO indirectly affect the function of the primary cilium, otherwise known as a hair-like appendage on the brain and other cells that can cause molecules to increase body weight.

However, with this and other studies, researchers believe that it may be possible to change the function of the cilium and prevent weight gain. For this experiment in particular, the study authors used mice to test this theory. 

"If our findings are confirmed, they could explain how common genetic variants in the gene FTO affect human body weight and lead to obesity," said study leader Rudolph L. Leibel, MD, the Christopher J. Murphy Memorial Professor of Diabetes Research, professor of pediatrics and medicine, and co-director of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at CUMC, via a press release. "The better we can understand the molecular machinery of obesity, the better we will be able to manipulate these mechanisms and help people lose weight."

As previous studies have examined how FTO or the protein gene can increase body weight, little was known about how the alteration actually took place.

"Studies have shown that knocking out FTO in mice doesn't necessarily lead to obesity, and not all humans with FTO variants are obese," Dr. Leibel added, via the release. "Something else is going on at this location that we were missing."

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Cell Metabolism.