Huge Study Links a Specific Gene to Appetite for Alcohol

Gene variants have been linked to the degree of appetite for alcohol. In a new study, multi-institutional investigators used genetic data and information about drinking history from more than 105,000 people of European ancestry to identify a new gene and a particular neuroendocrine axis as contributors to alcohol appetite.

In a human study, researchers found that the gene (KLB) that produces the protein β-Klotho is associated with alcohol intake. An intact KLB gene protects against excessive alcohol intake, but when the gene is knocked out in brains of mice, the mice have an increased appetite for alcohol. We know that β-Klotho forms part of a brain receptor for a hormone made by the liver, fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-21. Alcohol induces …