Cellular problem discovered behind syndrome of obesity, learning difficulties
Contact: - out defective cilia Joanna Downer 410-614-5105 jdowner1jhmi.edu Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, a research team of scientists at Johns Hopkins have discovered a potential new source for obesity. More than a biology student school has looked into a microscope, the planets smaller animals - paramecium and the like - is driven by the waving, hair extensions known as cilia. But the fringe is also found in human cells, which act to contribute to the fluid and mucous membranes around the brain, lungs, eyes and kidneys, or adhesion of cells such as antennas.Studying families with a relatively rare disease called Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), characterized by obesity, learning difficulties and eye problems and kidney damage, researchers have discovered a new gene
involved. Furthermore, the protein BBS8 genes, only the base of the lashes, the report of scientists of the section, Sept. 21 Nature advance online. BBS is a relatively rare genetic disease, but has properties that many people, says Nicholas Katsanis, Ph.D., assistant professor in the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins.We do not know how or ciliary defects lead to obesity or learning difficulties, but the knowledge is, but a new approach to the study of these traits genetically disorder.It s very difficult to translate genetic understanding into a cellular mechanism that explains what is seen in the disease. But these efforts are what is genetic medicine, says Katsanis. Some aspects of BBS have been linked to ciliary defects in other
conditions. Cilia are known to play a key role in mammalian development, creating what is called the asymmetry of the left right-of organs like heart, lungs and liver in the right place at the end. asymmetry in people with BBS, sometimes from left to right is reversed.Also, malfunctioning cilia in the back of the eye called retinal dystrophy and eventual blindness, and kidney problems ciliary lead to structural problems in the organ.Pages: [1] 2 3