A research group led by Associate Professor Akira Ishikawa of the Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University announced that they have identified a new gene involved in obesity resistance for the first time in the world.
In recent years, it has been reported that obesity is the cause of all diseases such as lifestyle-related diseases.It has also been reported that in livestock, obesity is the main cause of reduced productivity of livestock products.
Obesity is governed by a complex combination of genetic and environmental factors.So far, many loci that control traits related to obesity, such as BMI, body weight, white adipose tissue weight, and blood lipid concentration, have been located on chromosomes in humans and model animals (such as mice).However, it was difficult to identify these causative genes.
From the genetic resources of wild mice, the research group discovered that the Ly75 (lymphocyte antigen 75) gene is a leading candidate gene that reduces white adipose tissue weight, that is, suppresses obesity.And this time, by genetic analysis and causal analysis using Ly75 knockout mice etc., when the genotype of Ly75 changes and the mRNA expression level of Ly75 increases, the weight of white adipose tissue decreases (that is, it suppresses obesity). ) Was successfully proved.
Ly75 has been reported to play a role in immune response, but there have been no reports of obesity.The results of this research revealed for the first time in the world that Ly75 is a gene involved in obesity.
The results of this research will provide new insights into obesity biology, and by elucidating the molecular functions involved in lipid metabolism of the Ly75 gene, they will be applied to genomic medicine to overcome obesity in humans and in domestic animals. It is thought to lead to application to genome breeding for health improvement and productivity improvement of livestock products.
Paper information:[Scientific Reports] Genetic identification of Ly75as a novel quantitative trait gene for resistance to obesity in mice
