Mutations in genes encoding WNT co-receptors, LPR5 and LPR6, are known to be associated with cardiometabolic disorders. A team of researchers has now investigated the role of LPR5 in adipose tissue. They found that patients with gain-of-function mutations had increased fat accumulation in the lower body, whereas a common LPR5 allele (rs599083) was associated with increased abdominal accumulation of fat. Furthermore, LPR5 expression was higher in abdominal adipocyte progenitors than in gluteal adipocyte progenitor cells and knockdown of the gene in the two progenitor cell populations led to different outcomes in fat distribution.
References
Loh, N. Y. et al. LRP5 regulates human body fat distribution by modulating adipose progenitor biology in a dose- and depot-specific fashion. Cell Metab. 21, 262–272 (2015)
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New pathway in the distribution of body fat identified. Nat Rev Endocrinol 11, 194 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2015.19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2015.19