Found: A Gene That Controls Fat Cells

Written by Tena Moore

Wouldn’t it be nice if scientists could find the ‘fat cell gene’ and figure out how to disable it for good? It would be better than health care reform; it would be health reform! Not only would it decrease the amount of obesity in the world, but it would also decrease the amount of depression, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and a whole host of other illnesses that are either caused by obesity, or made worse by the condition.

It may seem a little farfetched, but researchers are doing just that. A team of researchers from the University of Central Florida (UCF) have actually found a gene that is in control of fat cell creation. Until this gene was found, the medical community thought the protein known as PPAR gamma was the main regulator of fat cell formation, but now things have turned in a whole new direction.

The UCF researchers, led by Pappachan Kolattukudy, have identified a gene formerly known as a factor in heart disease, Monocyte Chemotactic Protein-1 Induced Protein, otherwise known as MCPIP, as the leading director for fat cell formation.

The researchers are currently conducting studies to find out how they can use this information to create pharmaceutical solutions that could potentially stop the functioning of MCPIP or at least slow it down, bring an end to insulin resistance in the body, and prevent obesity. Although it could be years before any developments emerge, there is hope for the more than 300 million people who are living with obesity worldwide.



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