Predicting novel candidate human obesity genes and their site of action by systematic functional screening in Drosophila.

The discovery of human obesity-associated genes can reveal new mechanisms to target for weight loss therapy. Genetic studies of obese individuals and the analysis of rare genetic variants can identify novel obesity-associated genes. However, establishing a functional relationship between these candi...

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Autores principales: Neha Agrawal, Katherine Lawler, Catherine M Davidson, Julia M Keogh, Robert Legg, INTERVAL, Inês Barroso, I Sadaf Farooqi, Andrea H Brand
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Publicado: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/f33c9af2608e4f3c96edf0d646019c8a
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:f33c9af2608e4f3c96edf0d646019c8a2021-12-02T19:54:20ZPredicting novel candidate human obesity genes and their site of action by systematic functional screening in Drosophila.1544-91731545-788510.1371/journal.pbio.3001255https://doaj.org/article/f33c9af2608e4f3c96edf0d646019c8a2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001255https://doaj.org/toc/1544-9173https://doaj.org/toc/1545-7885The discovery of human obesity-associated genes can reveal new mechanisms to target for weight loss therapy. Genetic studies of obese individuals and the analysis of rare genetic variants can identify novel obesity-associated genes. However, establishing a functional relationship between these candidate genes and adiposity remains a significant challenge. We uncovered a large number of rare homozygous gene variants by exome sequencing of severely obese children, including those from consanguineous families. By assessing the function of these genes in vivo in Drosophila, we identified 4 genes, not previously linked to human obesity, that regulate adiposity (itpr, dachsous, calpA, and sdk). Dachsous is a transmembrane protein upstream of the Hippo signalling pathway. We found that 3 further members of the Hippo pathway, fat, four-jointed, and hippo, also regulate adiposity and that they act in neurons, rather than in adipose tissue (fat body). Screening Hippo pathway genes in larger human cohorts revealed rare variants in TAOK2 associated with human obesity. Knockdown of Drosophila tao increased adiposity in vivo demonstrating the strength of our approach in predicting novel human obesity genes and signalling pathways and their site of action.Neha AgrawalKatherine LawlerCatherine M DavidsonJulia M KeoghRobert LeggINTERVALInês BarrosoI Sadaf FarooqiAndrea H BrandPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleBiology (General)QH301-705.5ENPLoS Biology, Vol 19, Iss 11, p e3001255 (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Biology (General)
QH301-705.5
spellingShingle Biology (General)
QH301-705.5
Neha Agrawal
Katherine Lawler
Catherine M Davidson
Julia M Keogh
Robert Legg
INTERVAL
Inês Barroso
I Sadaf Farooqi
Andrea H Brand
Predicting novel candidate human obesity genes and their site of action by systematic functional screening in Drosophila.
description The discovery of human obesity-associated genes can reveal new mechanisms to target for weight loss therapy. Genetic studies of obese individuals and the analysis of rare genetic variants can identify novel obesity-associated genes. However, establishing a functional relationship between these candidate genes and adiposity remains a significant challenge. We uncovered a large number of rare homozygous gene variants by exome sequencing of severely obese children, including those from consanguineous families. By assessing the function of these genes in vivo in Drosophila, we identified 4 genes, not previously linked to human obesity, that regulate adiposity (itpr, dachsous, calpA, and sdk). Dachsous is a transmembrane protein upstream of the Hippo signalling pathway. We found that 3 further members of the Hippo pathway, fat, four-jointed, and hippo, also regulate adiposity and that they act in neurons, rather than in adipose tissue (fat body). Screening Hippo pathway genes in larger human cohorts revealed rare variants in TAOK2 associated with human obesity. Knockdown of Drosophila tao increased adiposity in vivo demonstrating the strength of our approach in predicting novel human obesity genes and signalling pathways and their site of action.
format article
author Neha Agrawal
Katherine Lawler
Catherine M Davidson
Julia M Keogh
Robert Legg
INTERVAL
Inês Barroso
I Sadaf Farooqi
Andrea H Brand
author_facet Neha Agrawal
Katherine Lawler
Catherine M Davidson
Julia M Keogh
Robert Legg
INTERVAL
Inês Barroso
I Sadaf Farooqi
Andrea H Brand
author_sort Neha Agrawal
title Predicting novel candidate human obesity genes and their site of action by systematic functional screening in Drosophila.
title_short Predicting novel candidate human obesity genes and their site of action by systematic functional screening in Drosophila.
title_full Predicting novel candidate human obesity genes and their site of action by systematic functional screening in Drosophila.
title_fullStr Predicting novel candidate human obesity genes and their site of action by systematic functional screening in Drosophila.
title_full_unstemmed Predicting novel candidate human obesity genes and their site of action by systematic functional screening in Drosophila.
title_sort predicting novel candidate human obesity genes and their site of action by systematic functional screening in drosophila.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/f33c9af2608e4f3c96edf0d646019c8a
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