Family tree in Utah reveals obesity gene

Myriad Genetics says it has discovered a gene that appears directly linked to human obesity and drugs could be relatively easily developed to combat the condition.

The biotechnology company, based in Salt Lake City, said the gene, HOB1, also appeared to provide an important molecular link between obesity and diabetes.

The discovery may be more meaningful than some other genes linked to obesity because the company discovered it by tracing its prevalence in a tightly knit human population rather than through animal studies, which often have no clinical relevance to humans.

Myriad compare the DNA of Utah people who were obese with that of family members who were not. Many Utah families can trace their ancestry directly to pioneers, and the company discovered a mutation in one gene that it was able to follow back through numerous generations.

What is not yet clear is what percentage of people with the mutated gene become obese.

It could be high, based on equivalent studies into breast and ovarian cancer.

Myriad said that unlike the genes which caused those conditions, the structure of the mutated obesity gene meant it could be attacked with a small molecule drug, which means a pill rather than an injection. It might also be easier to develop drugs to compensate for the genetic mutation because the gene is too active rather than not active enough.

But the discovery is only the first step in tracing the relationship between the gene and obesity.

- REUTERS

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