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OBESITY

Obesity-associated ASB4 controls satiety

Nature Reviews Endocrinology volume 18, page 456 (2022)Cite this article

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The development of obesity is commonly driven by the interactions between various genes and the environment. Obesity-promoting genetic variants are found in genes that comprise neuroendocrine circuits that control energy balance, however, not all genes identified in genome-wide association studies of obesity are functionally understood. Now, a study shows that the obesity-linked gene encoding ankyrin repeat and SOCS box–containing 4 (ASB4) regulates satiety.

To understand how Asb4 functions, the researchers decreased its expression in mice. Animals treated with Abs4 Dicer-substrate RNA (DsiRNA) had greater food intake compared with control DsiRNA-treated animals, owing to increased meal size. The team also generated Asb4-deficient mice and observed that these mice consumed larger meals during the mice’s active period compared with their inactive period. Male Asb4-deficient mice had increased body weight and fat mass, while female Asb4-deficient mice did not present this phenotype.

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References

Original article

  • Vagena, E. et al. ASB4 modulates central melanocortinergic neurons and calcitonin signaling to control satiety and glucose homeostasis. Sci. Signal. 15, eabj8204 (2022)

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  1. Senior Editor, Nature Aging http://www.nature.com/nrendo/

    Anna Kriebs

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  1. Anna Kriebs
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Correspondence to Anna Kriebs.

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Kriebs, A. Obesity-associated ASB4 controls satiety. Nat Rev Endocrinol 18, 456 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-022-00704-4

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