One Gene May Be Quietly Impacting Your Ability To Lose Weight in Adulthood
A gene shaping the brain before birth stays active for life. It may explain why stress makes weight gain hard to shake.
A single gene, Orthopedia (Otp), discovered by researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, continues to impact how the body handles stress and stores fat throughout adulthood, according to a new study. Otp, a transcription factor, plays a crucial role in embryonic development and is primarily found in the hypothalamus, which regulates neuroendocrine systems, stress, and metabolic balance.
Researchers found that Otp does not switch off after childhood but remains active into adulthood, controlling hormonal systems governing stress responses, metabolism, and behavior. This finding may explain the common link between stress and weight gain. When researchers switched off Otp in adult mice, the animals exhibited elevated stress hormones, signs of depression, reduced thyroid hormone levels, lower body temperature, higher cholesterol, and increased fat storage, despite normal eating habits and weight.
Otp functions like a switchboard operator, receiving signals from the body and environment, then directing them to DNA that dictates hormonal systems' activation. This study suggests that evolution has repurposed the same genetic machinery for two distinct tasks: shaping brain cells during development and regulating stress and energy balance in adulthood.
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