2024-05-06 09:21:34
(ANSA) – ROME, MAY 04 – A causal genetic variant strongly associated with childhood obesity has been identified: the discovery is due to pediatricians at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (Chop) and is published in the journal Cell Genomics.
The study provides new insights into the importance of a region of the nervous system, the hypothalamus, and its role in common childhood obesity. The gene could serve as a tractable target for future therapies.
Both environmental and genetic factors play critical roles in the increased incidence of childhood obesity.
Previous studies show that neuronal pathways in the hypothalamus regulate food consumption and are key regulators of disease.
By comparing the genome of obese children with that of normal weight peers, pediatricians have identified a specific genetic variant strongly associated only with childhood obesity and not with adult obesity; the gene is located on chromosome 12 and is called ‘rs7132908’ and is located near the FAIM2 gene important for the development of the nervous system.
“The discovered variant is associated with one of the strongest genetic signals ever found for childhood obesity,” explains first author Sheridan Littleton. In test-tube experiments, the researchers demonstrated that this variant is potentially associated with a reduction in neurons in the hypothalamic region.
“With further research, there is the potential to discover how this genetic variant could become the target of new therapies specifically designed to treat childhood obesity,” he adds.
In addition to childhood obesity, the locus in question has been found to be linked to a variety of related health problems, including elevated susceptibility to type 2 diabetes, increased body fat percentage in children and adults, and a earlier age of the menstrual cycle.
“This work further highlights how central the brain is to the genetics of obesity and provides us with a strategy for further studies,” the researchers conclude. (HANDLE).
2024-05-06 09:21:34