title: Will fatty worms help cure human obesity?
abstract: The incidence of obesity has reached epidemic proportions within industrial societies; however, research on human obesity has been hampered by our inability to control genetic and environmental factors. The control of energy homeostasis appears to be conserved among species. Recent creative research in Caenorhabditis elegans, including the application of a genome-wide RNA interference analysis, has provided insight into the genes involved in energy balance. In this article, we discuss the results of these studies and their potential importance to humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Shian Huey
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.forename: Ormond A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: MacDougald
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D022762:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D034622:RNA Interference; D051780:Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 1; D014157:Transcription Factors
chemical_list: D022762:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C497387:SREBF1 protein, human; D051780:Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 1; D014157:Transcription Factors