Over the past years, there have been numerous discussions centering around the high obesity rates of adults in the United States. In 2018 the CDC reported that adult obesity rates reached an alarming 42.4% of the population, along with childhood obesity rates rising as well. While many are quick to tie obesity to overeating and an unhealthy lifestyle, that is only one part of disease development. There are various socioeconomic and genetic factors that can contribute to obesity development as well. A recent study from the University of Virginia Health System has worked to discover genes that can cause obesity development.
The effort to push to more patient-specific medicine coupled with vast improvements in genetic screening and testing has helped researchers and doctors better understand the role our genes play in food and energy processing. The researchers worked with 293 genes connected with obesity identified from genome-wide association studies (GWAS), working to narrow down which genes can potentially cause obesity to develop. The team used C. elegans, a small worm, to conduct their research as these worms can develop obesity from being fed excess amounts of sugar. The worms were split into two groups, one fed a normal diet and the other was fed a high fructose diet to mimic a diet-induced obesity disease model.
By performing genetic screens, researchers are able to identify genes of interest in relation to obesity to further investigate to better understand how genes can contribute to disease development.
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From these two groups of C. elegans, the researchers then conducted further genetic screening and were able to identify 14 genes that can cause obesity along with three others that prevent obesity. To confirm these results, the researchers performed a knockdown (blocking expression of the gene) of these 14 obesity-inducing genes. They found that even with a high fructose diet, the C. elegans were able to maintain a healthy weight and obesity did not develop. These findings helped show a causal relationship and help to identify genes that are involved in fat storage.
This study is important in further understanding the genetic components involved in fat development and energy processing. Using genetic screening when treating patients will help enable physicians to make more patient-specific therapies that are more effective.
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