La scoperta è contenuta in uno studio pubblicato sulla rivista Cell dai ricercatori della British Columbia University: si chiama ALK ed è considerato l’interruttore molecolare della magrezza. Il gene, già noto quale obbiettivo di farmaci anti cancro, potrebbe essere il cardine su cui poggiare nuove terapie contro l’obesità.
Gli studiosi hanno osservato che l'1% della popolazione mangia qualsiasi cosa, non passa tutto il proprio tempo in palestra. ma non accumula peso.
Per conoscere le cause di questa “non variazione”, essi hanno osservato i dati della biobanca della popolazione estone, un database di 47'000 persone tra i 20 e i 44 anni, rilevando che le varianti del gene ALK sono presenti nei soggetti più esili. Dopo prove su cavie nelle quali il gene ALK è stato disattivato, è stato confermato che queste ultime restavano magre anche se sottoposte a dieta ipercalorica.
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