A novel association between genes and BMI apparently came into the limelight. According to a latest research, DNA variants in two nervous system genes are linked with obesity. It was suggested that the endocannabinoid system known for signaling in the brain and peripheral tissues controlling energy balance are highly active in obese patients.
Scientists sequenced two intervals that included encoding the endocannabinoid metabolic enzymes fatty-acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoglyceride lipase (MGLL). The research was triggered on 147 normal controls and 142 extremely obese cases. On applying quality filters, 1,393 were supposedly considered high quality single nucleotide variants. While 55 percent of the variants appear rare, 143 are indels. Throughout the research, Olivier Harismendy and colleagues employed single marker tests and collapsed marker tests.
In conclusion BMI: the FAAH promoter, the MGLL promoter, MGLL intron 2, and MGLL intron 3 were associated. Two of these intervals may be composed of rare variants and most of the associated variants are located in promoter sequences or in predicted transcriptional enhancers. Therefore, the gene variants possibly play a regulatory role. Rare variants in the FAAH promoter related to BMI are apparently linked with raised level of FAAH substrate anandamide too. Hence, it appears that the variants are involved in obesity.