WDTC1 ("Adipose") is a gene associated with
obesity
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...
.
WDTC1 is a gene that codes for a
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
acting as a suppressor in lipid accumulation. WDTC1 protein consists of seven
WD40 domains, three
transient receptor potential channel
Transient receptor potential channels (TRP channels) are a group of ion channels located mostly on the plasma membrane of numerous animal cell types. Most of these are grouped into two broad groups: Group 1 includes TRPC ( "C" for canonical), TR ...
protein-protein interaction domains, DDB1 binding elements, and a
prenylated C-terminus. Reduced expression or disruption of WDTC1 gene is associated with obesity, increased
triglyceride
A triglyceride (TG, triacylglycerol, TAG, or triacylglyceride) is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids (from ''tri-'' and ''glyceride'').
Triglycerides are the main constituents of body fat in humans and other vertebrates, as w ...
accumulation, and
adipogenesis Adipogenesis is the formation of adipocytes (fat cells) from stem cells. It involves 2 phases, determination, and terminal differentiation. Determination is mesenchymal stem cells committing to the adipocyte precursor cells, also known as preadipocy ...
. WDTC1 is a factor in a complex composed of
DDB1
DNA damage-binding protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''DDB1'' gene.
Gene
The gene's position is on chromosome 11q12-q13.
Protein
The DDB1 gene encodes the large subunit of DNA damage-binding protein, a heterodimer composed ...
,
CUL4, and ROC1 that restricts transcription in adipogenesis.
Model organisms
Model organism
A model organism (often shortened to model) is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workin ...
s have been used in the study of WDTC1 function. A conditional
knockout mouse
A knockout mouse, or knock-out mouse, is a genetically modified mouse (''Mus musculus'') in which researchers have inactivated, or "knocked out", an existing gene by replacing it or disrupting it with an artificial piece of DNA. They are importan ...
line called ''Wdtc1
tm1a(KOMP)Wtsi'' was generated at the
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
The Wellcome Sanger Institute, previously known as The Sanger Centre and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, is a non-profit British genomics and genetics research institute, primarily funded by the Wellcome Trust.
It is located on the Wellcome G ...
.
Male and female animals underwent a standardized
phenotypic screen
In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological proper ...
to determine the effects of deletion.
Additional screens performed: - In-depth immunological phenotyping
Studies of phenotype of mice showed that having a loss of an allele resulted in obesity and poor metabolic profiles.
Transgenic
A transgene is a gene that has been transferred naturally, or by any of a number of genetic engineering techniques, from one organism to another. The introduction of a transgene, in a process known as transgenesis, has the potential to change the ...
expression of the WDTC1 gene in mice showed the opposite effect with mice having less adipose.
References
External links
Born lucky: Scientists discover "skinny gene" - MSNBC
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