Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu về sinh học được đăng trên tạp chí sinh học Journal of Biology đề tài: Obesity genes: so close and yet so far. | Journal of Biology BioMed Central Minireview Obesity genes so close and yet so far. Daniel Pomp 1 and Karen L Mohlke1 Addresses Departments of Nutrition Cell and Molecular Physiology University of North Carolina Chapel Hill NC 27599-7461 USA. tDepartment of Genetics University of North Carolina Chapel Hill NC 27599-7264 USA. Correspondence Daniel Pomp. Email dpomp@ Published 27 November 2008 Journal of Biology 2008 7 36 doi jbiol93 The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at http content 7 9 36 2008 BioMed Central Ltd Abstract Little is known about genetic variants that predispose individuals toward leanness or fatness. This minireview highlights recent advances in the study of human populations animal models and synergistic efforts as described by De Luca and colleagues in BMC Genetics which are beginning to harvest low-hanging fruit in the search for obesity genes. Few research topics capture the public s imagination like the search for genes that predispose to obesity. Ever since the discovery that the ob mouse mutation was caused by a deficiency in the protein leptin 1 each new finding is hailed in the headlines with promises of pharmaceutical intervention to prevent weight gain. However it is clear that complex diseases such as obesity are not caused by genes alone but involve interplay between genetics diet infectious agents environment behavior and social structures 2 . This multifactorial nature combined with the fact that complex traits are controlled by many genes most with small effects as has long been hypothesized by quantitative geneticists for height in humans and recently confirmed 3 has rendered the search for obesity genes exceedingly difficult. Is there light at the end of the tunnel In this minireview we first evaluate very recent attempts to find obesity genes using powerful association-mapping strategies in large human populations and then discuss improved animal models and .
