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Genetic Link Between Obesity and Diabetes Found
A new discovery made by Froguel et al from Imperial College London and the Institut Pasteur in Lille helps to explain how being overweight is associated with type-2 or adult-onset diabetes. The connection they found is a gene called ENPP1 found to be similar among the 62 families examined in the study. This new evidence may also offer new ways to treat both conditions in the not-too-distant future. The researchers reported their findings in the journal Nature GeneticsŐs July 17th, 2005 issue.
The gene ENPP1 helps control how cells respond to insulin, which in turns helps them use glucose efficiently. It is thought that certain defects in this gene could lead to faulty regulation of sugar levels, causing various forms of diabetes. In addition, people who are obese or overweight are much more likely to suffer from insulin resistance, an early stage in the development of type 2 diabetes that is characterized by excess fatty deposits and abnormal levels of insulin in the bloodstream. Both conditions, unfortunately, are on the rapid rise across the world.
Froguel and colleagues started with 62 French families prone to both obesity and diabetes. The patient pool for the research was then expanded to include other families from across northern Europe. When the team compared the genes of 1,225 children who were grossly obese or overweight at ages five and 11 with the genes of over a thousand normal weight children they found that many of the obese children possessed faulty versions of ENPP1. In all, they found 11 different variations of the ENPP1 gene, six of which were linked with severe obesity. When they looked at the adults in the families, they found a similar link between the ENPP1 variants and obesity. In addition, the link between the gene variants and early warning signs of diabetes was established.
It is the hypothesis of the team that certain forms of the ENPP1 gene interfere with both appetite and the ability to use insulin correctly. The identification of ENPP1 as a molecular mechanism for obesity and diabetes will allow researchers to use the gene as a target to develop new therapies and treatments for controlling insulin. Since the gene can be searched for and identified, it could help in identifying groups and individuals at increased risk. Early identification would allow for preventive measures to be put in place earlier on, and potentially reduce the burden of ill health later in life.
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