Obesity gene discovery paves way for new weight loss drug

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Researchers from MIT and Harvard University have discovered the "obesity gene" that makes people fat. This could pave way for new discoveries and methods to developing weight-loss treatments.

The findings were published online this week at the New England Journal of Medicine. The research led by genetics specialist Melina Claussnitzer of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and colleagues found that the gene called FTO could be reversed, and that a cure for obesity could come in the form of an injection in the future.

According to the report by Telegraph, a slight variation of the gene called FTO is found among people who are obese or those who have a body mass index of 30 and above. This has been known as the "obesity gene" and researchers have discovered how to inhibit the genes suggesting that obesity may not just be dependent on the amount of food that people eat and how much they exercise.

The scientists experimented on the FTO gene on mice models and human cells in the lab and found that in manipulating this gene in the fact cells of mice, their metabolism increased and subsequently shed weight without "dieting" or exercising more.

"Obesity has traditionally been seen as the result of an imbalance between the amount of food we eat and how much we exercise, but this view ignores the contribution of genetics to each individual's metabolism," said coauthor Professor Manolis Kellis of Broad Institute and MIT. "By manipulating this new pathway, we could switch between energy storage and energy dissipation providing new hope for a cure against obesity."

According to Professor Melina, the result of the study enables the possibility of "reprogramming" the fat stores in the body to be expended instead of being stored.

"These mice were 50 percent thinner than the control mice, and they did not gain any weight on a high-fat diet. Instead they dissipated more energy, even in their sleep, suggesting a dramatic shift in their global metabolism," said Dr. Claussnitzer, in the report by Discovery News. "The circuitry underlying the FTO region functions like a master regulatory switch between energy storage and energy dissipation."

Time reports that the next step for the research would be to figure out how to simulate the effect on humans, especially those who carry the mutated FTO gene that makes them more prone to obesity.

Dr. Sam Klein of Washington University told CBS News that the research holds promise for drug development as it suggests a new approach on how to stimulate brown fat, or the tissue in the body that helps burn calories.