Obesity genetics in mouse and human: back and forth, and back again
Obesity is a major public health concern. This condition results from a constant and complex interplay between predisposing genes and environmental stimuli. Current attempts to manage obesity have been moderately effective and a better understanding of the etiology of obesity is required for the dev...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2015-03-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/856.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797418350120271872 |
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| author | Fereshteh T. Yazdi Susanne M. Clee David Meyre |
| author_facet | Fereshteh T. Yazdi Susanne M. Clee David Meyre |
| author_sort | Fereshteh T. Yazdi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Obesity is a major public health concern. This condition results from a constant and complex interplay between predisposing genes and environmental stimuli. Current attempts to manage obesity have been moderately effective and a better understanding of the etiology of obesity is required for the development of more successful and personalized prevention and treatment options. To that effect, mouse models have been an essential tool in expanding our understanding of obesity, due to the availability of their complete genome sequence, genetically identified and defined strains, various tools for genetic manipulation and the accessibility of target tissues for obesity that are not easily attainable from humans. Our knowledge of monogenic obesity in humans greatly benefited from the mouse obesity genetics field. Genes underlying highly penetrant forms of monogenic obesity are part of the leptin-melanocortin pathway in the hypothalamus. Recently, hypothesis-generating genome-wide association studies for polygenic obesity traits in humans have led to the identification of 119 common gene variants with modest effect, most of them having an unknown function. These discoveries have led to novel animal models and have illuminated new biologic pathways. Integrated mouse-human genetic approaches have firmly established new obesity candidate genes. Innovative strategies recently developed by scientists are described in this review to accelerate the identification of causal genes and deepen our understanding of obesity etiology. An exhaustive dissection of the molecular roots of obesity may ultimately help to tackle the growing obesity epidemic worldwide. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:32:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-db66b53cc37249e09d09f79dbf80cb3f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:32:28Z |
| publishDate | 2015-03-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-db66b53cc37249e09d09f79dbf80cb3f2023-12-03T11:04:20ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592015-03-013e85610.7717/peerj.856856Obesity genetics in mouse and human: back and forth, and back againFereshteh T. Yazdi0Susanne M. Clee1David Meyre2Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, CanadaDepartment of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, CanadaDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, CanadaObesity is a major public health concern. This condition results from a constant and complex interplay between predisposing genes and environmental stimuli. Current attempts to manage obesity have been moderately effective and a better understanding of the etiology of obesity is required for the development of more successful and personalized prevention and treatment options. To that effect, mouse models have been an essential tool in expanding our understanding of obesity, due to the availability of their complete genome sequence, genetically identified and defined strains, various tools for genetic manipulation and the accessibility of target tissues for obesity that are not easily attainable from humans. Our knowledge of monogenic obesity in humans greatly benefited from the mouse obesity genetics field. Genes underlying highly penetrant forms of monogenic obesity are part of the leptin-melanocortin pathway in the hypothalamus. Recently, hypothesis-generating genome-wide association studies for polygenic obesity traits in humans have led to the identification of 119 common gene variants with modest effect, most of them having an unknown function. These discoveries have led to novel animal models and have illuminated new biologic pathways. Integrated mouse-human genetic approaches have firmly established new obesity candidate genes. Innovative strategies recently developed by scientists are described in this review to accelerate the identification of causal genes and deepen our understanding of obesity etiology. An exhaustive dissection of the molecular roots of obesity may ultimately help to tackle the growing obesity epidemic worldwide.https://peerj.com/articles/856.pdfPolygenic obesityMonogenic obesityGeneticsIntegrative biologyHumanMouse |
| spellingShingle | Fereshteh T. Yazdi Susanne M. Clee David Meyre Obesity genetics in mouse and human: back and forth, and back again PeerJ Polygenic obesity Monogenic obesity Genetics Integrative biology Human Mouse |
| title | Obesity genetics in mouse and human: back and forth, and back again |
| title_full | Obesity genetics in mouse and human: back and forth, and back again |
| title_fullStr | Obesity genetics in mouse and human: back and forth, and back again |
| title_full_unstemmed | Obesity genetics in mouse and human: back and forth, and back again |
| title_short | Obesity genetics in mouse and human: back and forth, and back again |
| title_sort | obesity genetics in mouse and human back and forth and back again |
| topic | Polygenic obesity Monogenic obesity Genetics Integrative biology Human Mouse |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/856.pdf |
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