线粒体基因与儿童肥胖

Mitochondrial DNA and childhood obesity

儿童肥胖是21世纪面临的重大公共卫生问题之一。儿童肥胖的具体发病机制仍不是十分明确,目前认为可能是由遗传、饮食、运动等多种因素共同作用。其中能量代谢失衡在肥胖的发生发展中扮演着重要角色。线粒体是体内能量代谢的重要场所,其功能的正常发挥依赖于核基因和线粒体基因两者共同调控。此外,线粒体DNA具有母系遗传的特点,这使得线粒体基因异常可能通过卵母细胞传递给下一代,并很好地解释了部分肥胖家系表现出母系遗传倾向。因此,线粒体基因很可能是儿童肥胖的发生发展过程中的重要的一环。该文主要综述了线粒体基因与儿童肥胖的相关性与可能机制。

Childhood obesity is one of the major public health problems in the 21st century.The specific pathogenesis of obesity in children is still not very clear.It is currently believed that it may be caused by multiple factors including heredity, diet, and physical activity.The mitochondrial dysfunction plays an important role in the development of obesity.Mitochondria are important sites for energy metabolism in human body, and the normal function depends on the regulation of both nuclear and mitochondrial genes.In addition, due to the maternal inheritance, mitochondrial DNA can be passed to the next generation, which explains why some studies show larger correlation for BMI between mothers and their children than between fathers and their children.Therefore, mitochondrial genes are likely to be an important part of the development of childhood obesity.This article reviews the association and possible mechanisms of mitochondrial DNA and childhood obesity.