Scientists find a 'master switch'

Published on Sunday 15 May 2011 16:50

Scientists believe they have found a "master switch" gene that could help in treating diabetes, high rates of cholesterol and obesity-related diseases.

In a study published in the journal Nature Genetics, the British researchers say that, because fat plays an important role in people's susceptibility to metabolic diseases, the regulating gene could be targeted by future drugs.

Tim Spector, of King's College London, who led the study, said it could prove an important breakthrough.

"This is the first major study that shows how small changes in one master regulator gene can cause a cascade of other metabolic effects in other genes," Professor Spector added.

More than half a billion people, or one in ten adults worldwide, are obese and the number of sufferers has doubled since the 1980s, after the obesity epidemic spilled over from wealthy into poorer nations.

In the United States, obesity-related diseases already account for nearly 10 per cent of health spending - some 90 billion a year.

Type 2 diabetes, which is often linked to poor diet and lack of exercise, is also reaching epidemic levels worldwide as rates of obesity rise.

Scientists have already identified that the gene, which is called KLF14, was linked to Type 2 diabetes and cholesterol levels. However, until now they did know what role it played.

Mr Spector's team analysed more than 20,000 genes in fat samples taken from under the skin of 800 British female twin volunteers.

They found a link between the KLF14 gene and the levels of many other distant genes found in fat tissue - showing that KLF14 acts as a master switch to control these genes.

They then confirmed their findings in 600 fat samples from a separate group of people from Iceland.

In a report of their study, the researchers explained that other genes found to be controlled by KLF14 are linked to a range of metabolic traits, including body mass index, obesity, cholesterol, insulin and glucose levels.

Mark McCarthy, of Oxford University, who also worked on the study, said : "KLF14 seems to act as a master switch controlling processes that connect changes in the behaviour of subcutaneous fat to disturbances in muscle and liver that contribute to diabetes and other conditions.

"We are working hard to understand these processes and how we can use this information to improve treatment of these conditions."

In Scotland, deaths linked to obesity have surged by 40 per cent in five years, according to figures released in February.

A total of 196 people who died in Scotland in 2009 had obesity noted on their death certificates, compared to 139 five years earlier.

A fifth of primary 1 school children are overweight, highlighting the challenge the Scottish Government faces in tackling obesity and weight-related illnesses.