A recent study shows how a common obesity gene, FTO, contributes to weight gain. According to researchers, FTO affects a second gene linked to hair-like appendages on brain cells.

The study indicates that variations in FTO affect how the primary cilium functions. Primarily cilium is a poorly understood hair-like appendage on brain cells and other cells. Certain abnormalities of the cilium molecules lead to an increased body weight in some individuals by affecting an appetite-suppressing hormone called leptin.

The findings, which were conducted in mice, indicate that it may be possible to modify obesity with interventions that change the function of the cilium, according to scientists at Columbia University Medical Center.

Rudolph L. Leibel, MD, study leader, the Christopher J. Murphy Memorial Professor of Diabetes Research, professor of pediatrics and medicine, and co-director of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at CUMC, said in a statement, “If our findings are confirmed, they could explain how common genetic variants in the gene FTO affect human body weight and lead to obesity.” He continued, “The better we can understand the molecular machinery of obesity, the better we will be able to manipulate these mechanisms and help people lose weight.”

According to the Food Research and Action Center, more than two-thirds of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese.