Over 50 per cent of Canadians are obese or over-weight. (Credit: Gaulsstin, flickr.com)
Having a high copy number of a gene increases the expression of the protein it encodes. A new genomic study on 6,200 subjects found a link between a low copy number of the gene for amylase — a salivary protein which breaks starch down into digestible sugar — with obesity and high body mass index (BMI). People with the lowest number of copies of the amylase gene had an eight-fold higher risk of being obese than people with the highest copy number. This study opens the way to potential innovative obesity treatments based on the manipulation of digestive enzyme levels.
Original research paper published in the journal Nature Genetics on March 30, 2014.
Names and affiliations of selected authors
Philippe Froguel, Imperial College London
Robert Sladek, McGill University
