Scientists have found that a gene linked to diabetes and cholesterol
is a "master switch" that controls other genes found in fat in the body,
and say it should help in the search for treatments for obesity-related
diseases.
In a study published in the journal Nature Genetics, the British
researchers said that since fat plays an important role in peoples'
susceptibility to metabolic diseases like obesity, heart disease and
diabetes, the regulating gene could be target for drugs to treat such
illnesses.
"This is the first major study that shows how small changes in one
master regulator gene can cause a cascade of other metabolic effects in
other genes," said Tim Spector of King's College London, who led the
study.
More than half a billion people, or one in 10 adults worldwide, are
obese and the numbers have doubled since the 1980s as the obesity
epidemic has spilled over from wealthy into poorer nations.
In the United States, obesity-related diseases already account for
nearly 10 percent of medical spending -- an estimated $147 billion a
year.
Type 2 diabetes, which is often linked to poor diet and lack of
exercise, is also reaching epidemic levels worldwide as rates of obesity
rise.
Scientists have already identified a gene called KLF14 as being linked
to type 2 diabetes and cholesterol levels, but until now they did know
what role it played.
Spector's team analyzed more than 20,000 genes in fat samples taken from
under the skin of 800 British female twin volunteers. They found a link
between the KLF14 gene and the levels of many other distant genes found
in fat tissue, showing that KLF14 acts as a master switch to control
these genes.
