Association of the FTO gene with obesity and cancer in dogs

Abstract

Nowadays, obesity is one of the most serious problems that significantly affect health in both human and animal populations. Fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO), increases the risk of obesity and other metabolic diseases such as cancer, with taking part in many complex molecular pathways. On the other hand, environmental and genetic factors cause changes in FTO gene variants and expression levels, which result in phenotypic differences. Advanced knowledge on the genetic basis of human FTO gene and its association with cancer and obesity, has paved the way for the investigation of FTO gene in animals as well. In this review, we summarized current state of knowledge about the FTO gene, which is considered as an important marker of obesity in humans, as well as obesity, cancer and the association of FTO polymorphisms with these diseases in dogs by considering humans with other animal species. Understanding the molecular background of the FTO gene in dogs will be leading to the development of individual treatment methods and prediction of possible phenotypic effects in other species.