A mutant gene helps regulate appetite, weight and insulin, according to a new study by a group of British researchers. They say a genetic variant that supports body weight regulation may help fight obesity.

A mutation in the ZFHX3 gene, which exists in only 4% of people, was found to control parts of the brain responsible for appetite.

Understanding how the ZFHX3 gene variant works could pave the way for new targeted treatments for weight loss, writes News.ro.

Scientists from Nottingham Trent University and MRC Harwell in the UK have discovered a mechanism that allows a mutated gene to play a key role in regulating appetite, weight and the hormone insulin, which helps keep blood sugar levels under control and prevents diabetes complications.

In the mouse study, the team discovered that the mutation could affect a region of the brain known as the hypothalamus, which controls appetite, food intake, hunger and thirst, by turning the functions of other genes on and off.

Understanding this pathway, described in the journal FASEB (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology), could pave the way for new targeted therapies for weight loss, the researchers said.

“For the first time, we have demonstrated a role for this gene in altering growth and energy balance through a protein-altering mutation similar to a variant that is rare in the human population,” Dr. Rebecca said in a statement from the university. Dumbell, a research fellow in the Faculty of Science and Technology at Nottingham Trent University.

She stated that there is an important genetic component to human appetite and growth that is not fully understood.

“Understanding what happens to those with this mutation opens the way to exploring potential new targets for weight loss interventions for all people,” the researcher notes.

Dr. Dumbell believes that the ZFHX3 mutation, which plays a similar role in mice and humans, may “explain why some people have a lower appetite and therefore don’t gain as much weight as others.”

People with the mutation ate about 12% less

Although everyone has the ZFHX3 gene, the specific mutation controlling this mechanism is thought to exist in only 4% of the population.

“This is probably one of many different mutations that make people different in their natural ability to diet,” explains Dr Dumbell.

For the study, scientists monitored the food intake of mice with the mutated ZFHX3 gene, as well as those that did not have this genetic variation.

They found that people with the mutation had lower food intake, shorter body length and lower levels of insulin and another hormone known as leptin, which helps regulate body weight.

In addition, these mice ate about 12% less, and at one year of age, they weighed about 20% less than mice without the mutation.

Lower insulin levels indicate that mice with lower body fat have healthier blood sugar regulation and are therefore less at risk for diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, the researchers said.

Next, the researchers will analyze how the ZFHX3 gene acts in key parts of the brain.

This will help learn how a gene affects how much mice eat or how fast their metabolism is, allowing researchers to understand how different people manage to naturally maintain a healthy weight.