Enteropeptidase: A Gene Associated with a Starvation Human Phenotype and a Novel Target for Obesity Treatment (original) (raw)

Background: Obesity research focuses essentially on gene targets associated with the obese phenotype. None of these targets have yet provided a viable drug therapy. Focusing instead on genes that are involved in energy absorption and that are associated with a ''human starvation phenotype'', we have identified enteropeptidase (EP), a gene associated with congenital enteropeptidase deficiency, as a novel target for obesity treatment. The advantages of this target are that the gene is expressed exclusively in the brush border of the intestine; it is peripheral and not redundant.