Obesity and fatty liver disease are the results of abnormal fat deposition, which means fat tissue accumulated in an excessive amount in a particular body part. They could increase the risk of life-threatening conditions, such as heart attack. In this project, we aimed to add novel knowledge of the genes and environmental factors behind abnormal fat deposition to the existing literature. We will first calculate the fat content in the whole liver using a software developed by our team. After integrating with other fat deposition phenotypes in the UK Biobank, we will try to find the genes associated with fat deposition, as well as the environmental factors that interact with these genes. The relationship between abnormal fat deposition and human diseases or traits will also be investigated.
With our results, the prevalence of fatty liver disease in the UK could be estimated in a much larger cohort. Our results would also shed light on the genetic mechanism of the diseases related to abnormal fat deposition.
The project is expected to last for two years.
