A new "fat storage" gene may yield new ways of treating obesity and diabetes, Spanish researchers say.
Researchers in Barcelona have found that they protected laboratory mice against obesity by blocking the newly-found gene, TRIP-Br2.
Their findings were reported in Nature Medicine this week.
The researchers say it may be possible to develop gene therapy against obesity.
The researchers found that stopping the gene also protected the animals against insulin resistance – the first stage of type 2 diabetes.
And their study showed that without the gene the mice increased their energy expenditure – and lost weight.
Researcher Cristina Mallol, of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, said: "The protection of mice with no expression of the gene TRIP-Br2, and its selective elevation in the visceral fat of humans point the way to a future gene therapy to counteract obesity, insulin resistance and excess lipids in the blood."
Nature Medicine January 7 2013
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