Table 1 Biological impacts of FTO from fetal to adult life

Increased placental FTO expression

Increased fetal and birth weight

[226–228]

Absent FTO expression (fused toes mutant mice)

Murine embryos die at midgestation

Fto-null mice

Postnatal growth retardation, reduced adipose tissue and lean body mass, shorter body length, lower bone mineral density, lower serum IGF-1

Fto deletion in murine CNS

Postnatal growth retardation

SNPs with higher FTO expression

Higher energy intake, increased appetite, higher dietary protein intake

[40, 43–49, 53]

Hypothalamic FTO expression

Regulation of hunger/satiation, energy intake and circadian rhythm

[50–52]

Early hypothalamic FTO over-expression in the rat

Postweaning hyperphagia

Fto over-expression in mice

Increase in body and fat mass, glucose intolerance during high-fat diet, metabolic syndrome

FTO over-expression

Increased gluconeogenesis

FTO over-expression

Increased adipogenesis, reduced thermogenesis of preadipocytes, insulin resistance

FTO deficiency in adipocytes

Increased expression of UCP-1 (thermogenin), induction of BAT phenotype with increased thermogenesis

Obesigenic FTO variants

Increased BMI in children at 8 yrs, higher risk of early menarche at 12 yrs

Obesigenic FTO variants

Increased BMI and obesity in adults

[8–19]

Obesigenic FTO variants

Increased risk of T2DM in adults

[20–28]

FTO rs9939609 A-allele

Increased risk of coronary heart disease

Obesigenic FTO variants

Increased risk of cancer, especially PCa and BCa

[276, 277, 291–298]

Obesigenic FTO SNPs

Reduction in frontal lobe volume of the brain, impaired verbal fluency, increased risk of AD

[319–323]

FTO rs9939609 SNP

Reduced leucocyte telomere length, accelerated aging