"The slimness gene"

In a study published in the journal Cell, an international team of scientists led by Joseph Penninger from the University of British Columbia, Canada, reported on the role of the ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) gene in maintaining normal weight.

We all know (and envy) people who can eat whatever they want, don't exercise, and at the same time don't gain weight. They make up about one percent of the population.

What is the secret of this phenomenon?

Quite a lot of researchers study obesity and the genetics of obesity. And what if we look at this problem from the other side and study thinness?

Using biobank data from Estonia, Penninger's group, which included researchers from Switzerland, Austria and Australia, compared the genetic set and clinical characteristics of 47102 healthy thin people and people with normal weight aged 20 to 44 years. Among the genetic variations found by the group in the weight deficit group was a mutation in the ALK gene encoding anaplastic lymphoma kinase.

The role of ALK in human physiology has been largely unclear. It is known that the gene is often mutated in several types of cancer, so it has been identified as a factor in tumor development. The new work shows that ALK acts in the brain, regulating metabolism by integrating and controlling energy consumption.

Penninger's group removed the ALK gene from flies and mice, and the animals became resistant to obesity. Despite the same diet and similar activity level, mice without ALK weighed less and had a lower percentage of adipose tissue in the body compared to control mice.

Since ALK is expressed in large quantities in the brain, its potential role in maintaining normal weight makes it an attractive target for scientists developing drugs for the treatment of obesity.

The researchers plan to focus on in-depth study of how neurons that express ALK regulate brain activity at the molecular level, and on determining how ALK balances metabolism in favor of leanness. It will also be important to check the results of the current work in additional, more diverse studies of the human population.

Let's add that ALK inhibitors have already been approved and are used to treat cancer, so if successful, they can be used for targeted treatment of obesity.

Article M.Orthofer et al. Identification of ALK in Thinness is published in the journal Cell.

Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on UBC materials: UBC scientist identifies a gene that controls thinness.