GENOTYPE AND PHENOTYPE MAPPING STUDY OF OBESITY IN ALBINO MICE

Abstract

Qbesity is characterized by massive expansion of fat mass and adipose tissue is the major site for long-term energy storage in the form oftriacylglycerol (TAG). Obesity, especially central obesity, is a hereditable trait associated with a high risk for development of diabetes and metabolic disorders.

Obesity is a complex multifactorial disease caused by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Furthermore in human, several genes exhibited changes in expression that correlated closely with body mass index and I or. waist/hip ratio.

Human rates of obesity in the developed world have now reached epidemic levels, and the global number of overweight individuals outstrips numbers of underweight cases. This reflects the effects of a high-fat food culture, combined with a genome evolved to efficiently conserve, partition, and store energy. Obesity represents one of the most serious global health issues with; 310 million people presently affected. The prevalence of morbid obesity (body mass index of 35.0 or greater) is low in Japan (0.2-0.3%).

• Obesity has been linked to diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, hyperlipidemia, metabolic syndrome, osteoarthritis and malignancies.

Aim of the Work:

1- Our knowledge of the genetic factors affecting obesity is increasing (fat . storage), but information about the individual • gene effects remains limited in humans as well as in animals models.

2-The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of high-caloric diets on the level of gene (mutation and aberration) and protein (expression).