Where to go with FTO?
An understanding of the mechanisms underlying body-weight regulation is crucial to tackle the growing problem of obesity. Recent technological advances in the analysis of genetic variation have given novel insights into the molecular basis of common disease. In particular, genomic variants in the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene have been consistently associated with human adiposity and metabolic disorders. Studies of the product of this previously mysterious gene have formed a vanguard in the quest to turn statistical association into hard biology. In this review, we examine data from human genetic and murine studies that explore the potential role of FTO, a member of the Fe(II)- and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent oxygenase superfamily, in the regulation of energy homeostasis and metabolism.
University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK.
Rachel
R
Larder
M K Marcella
MK
Cheung
Y C Loraine
YC
Tung
Giles S H
GS
Yeo
Anthony P
AP
Coll
D000071516:Alpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTO; D000818:Animals; D015992:Body Mass Index; D019175:DNA Methylation; D002149:Energy Intake; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000235:genetics; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009154:Mutation; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics*; D010641:Phenotype; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology
D011506:Proteins; D000071516:Alpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTO; C526492:FTO protein, human