Credit: Lab of Rudolph L. Leibel, MD
Microscopic image of human cells (stained purple), showing the primary cilium (green). A new study shows how FTO, a gene commonly associated with obesity, contributes to weight gain. Changes in this gene indirectly affect the function of the cilium -- a hair-like appendage found on brain and other cells. Irregularities in the cilium, in turn, can affect receptors for leptin, which suppresses appetite.