Gene linked to fat processing

The 'fat gene' carries the code for a fat-regulating enzyme in metabolism.
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HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Researchers at Rutgers University have found a human gene that influences how the body processes fat, a discovery that may lead to drugs to control obesity and promote weight loss.
The so-called "fat gene" carries the code for lipin, a protein that is a key fat-regulating enzyme in metabolism, said George M. Carman, a professor in the department of food science at Rutgers.
The lipin enzyme acts as a catalyst that the body needs to form fats, specifically triglycerides, Carman said Monday.
Carman's study was published online by the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Drugs must be developed to control lipin, which could help reduce fat in obese people and increase fat in underweight people, such as HIV/AIDS patients, Carman said.
"You can control the enzyme activity much easier if you have a drug," Carman said. "We're looking for inhibitors to block fat synthesis, and activators to increase [it]."
Developing such a "magic bullet" drug could be complicated, he said.
"There are many steps, many enzymes involved along the path that make fatty acids," Carman said.
What's new
Earlier studies in mice at the University of California had shown that too much lipin produces extra body fat, while lack of lipin causes fat loss, he said.
But until now, scientists did not know how lipin worked in fat metabolism.
Carman's research team at Rutgers found a gene in simple, single-celled baker's yeast that produced an enzyme similar to lipin in animals. It had the same effect on fat, he said.
"There were a lot of pieces in the puzzle," Carman said Monday.
"We've been studying the enzyme since 1989, but back then, we didn't have good enough technology to isolate the gene," he said.
Now, with vastly improved genetic sequencing, Carman was able to connect the mouse, yeast and human proteins that have similar molecular functions in processing fats.
The "fat gene" research at Rutgers follows the discovery by other scientists there last year of a so-called "fear gene," which controls innate and learned fear at the molecular level of the brain.