The gene of obesity
Obesity is a high fat deposition in special cells of the human body – adipocytes. Today this is a fairly common problem. According to statistics, every second inhabitant of the land aged after 50 years is obese.
Genetic predisposition is one of the causes of obesity and so of cardiovascular disease. The existence of the gene for obesity has been proven by scientists for a long time, and its name is obese gene. Mutations in it and lead to obesity.
Mutations in the leptin gene, which regulates the mass of fat tissue, lead to the formation of the following troubles: excessive deposition of fat in the tissue, high appetite and excessive consumption of food. People with such a mutation in the leptin gene are very likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
American scientists from the Medical College “Vil Cornel” found a rare gene responsible for cardiovascular diseases, according to an article published in the scientific journal American Journal of Cardiology.
In particular, they managed to establish that the mutation of the ApoE gene provokes an increased production of triglycerides – fats associated with such cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, obesity and stroke.
The human apoE gene is localized in the 19th chromosome , in which there is also a gene B, E-receptor . It is characteristic that the same gene codes for the B, E receptor and determines the incidence of familial hypercholesterolemia .
Many genes affect the manifestations of familial hypercholesterolemia , for example, the apoprotein B gene , the apoprotein gene (a) , the lipoprotein lipase gene and the apoprotein E gene, as well as external factors such as diet or smoking. The risk of disease depends on many inherited and external factors.
Apoprotein E consists of 229 amino acids and participates in the exchange of cholesterol, ensuring the binding of lipoproteins to LDL receptors. It is suggested that the apoprotein E secreted by astrocytes is captured by neurons (with the participation of a protein similar to the LDL receptor ) and affects their function.
How does this protein work? If a low level of leptin is present in the blood of a person, then for the organism it is a beacon indicating a reduced level of fat stores. Then the mechanism is launched to immediately accumulate them, which leads to uncontrollable appetite and, as a result, to obesity. In people with normal protein levels, leptin can also develop fat, can gain weight afterwards. To date, scientists are researching the possibility of using leptin for the prevention and treatment of obesity.
