Hypothalamic IRX3: A New Player in the Development of Obesity.

Hypothalamic IRX3: A New Player in the Development of Obesity. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2020 Feb 05;: Authors: de Araújo TM, Velloso LA Abstract Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified SNPs of the fat mass and obesity (FTO) gene as the most important risk alleles for obesity. However, how the presence of risk alleles affect phenotype is still a matter of intense investigation. In 2014, a study revealed that long-range enhancers from the intronic regions of the FTO gene regulate iroquois-class homeobox protein (IRX)3 expression. IRX3 is expressed in hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons and changes in its expression levels affect body adiposity by modifying food intake and energy expenditure. These findings have placed IRX3 as a potential target for the treatment of obesity. Here, we review studies that evaluated the roles of IRX3 in development, neurogenesis, and body energy homeostasis. PMID: 32035736 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism: TEM - Category: Endocrinology Authors: Tags: Trends Endocrinol Metab Source Type: research