In a new study published in the journal Natural Genetics, British researchers clam to have found a gene that is a “master switch” that controls other genes found in fat in the body. They hope that this discovery will help find treatments for obesity-related diseases like diabetes and high cholesterol.
“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,” Tim Spector of King’s College London, who led the study, told Reuters.
With obesity-related diseases already making up nearly ten percent of medical spending in the U.S., an estimated $147 billion a year, this research could have a huge impact in the future of health care in our country and abroad. More than half a billion people worldwide are considered obese.
Scientists had already identified the gene 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 KLF14 and many other genes in fat tissue that showed that KLF14 was a master control for those related genes.
The team then confirmed their findings in 600 fat samples from a separate group of people from Iceland.
In a report of their study, the researchers explained that the genes that KLF14 seems to control are linked to a range of metabolic traits, including body mass index, obesity, cholesterol, insulin and glucose levels.
“KLF14 seems to act as a master switch controlling processes that connect changes in the behavior of subcutaneous fat to disturbances in muscle and liver that contribute to diabetes and other conditions,” Mark McCarthy from Britain’s Oxford University, who also worked on the study, told Reuters.
“We are working hard…to understand these processes and how we can use this information to improve treatment of these conditions.”
