PHILADELPHIA – A research team led by Mitchell Lazar, MD, PhD,
Director of the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism
at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, has used
state-of-the-art genetic technology to map thousands of
positions where a molecular “master regulator” of fat-cell
biology is nestled in DNA to control genes in these cells. The
findings appear online this week in Genes & Development. The
international obesity epidemic is leading to major health risks,
including increased rates of diabetes, heart disease, and
cancer. Obesity is caused by increased numbers of fat cells that
store more fat than normal. “This research has the potential to
lead to new ways to think about therapies aimed at reducing the
number of fat cells or altering fat cell function in ways that
reduce the complications of obesity,” says Lazar. The master
molecule is called PPAR gamma, a gene regulator that is also the
target of a major class of antidiabetic drugs, which include
Actos® and Avandia. PPAR gamm