article_snippet.sent: On the right: when the gene for the transcription factor is deleted, the POMC cells no longer make it .
article_snippet.sent: The team, led by the University of Michigan, looked at how a protein called a transcription factor, and two small stretches of DNA called enhancers, act as triggers for the Pomc gene.
article_snippet.sent: All three regulate how often and when the POMC cells use the Pomc gene to create the signal molecules that then go out to the body.
article_snippet.sent: Like signal lights that show pilots the path to an airport runway, enhancers guide proteins toward the Pomc gene so it can be read.
article_snippet.sent: The latest research show in animals that the same thing happens when certain genetic triggers inside the POMC cells aren't working found that the two enhancers act in ways that complement one another, both encouraging the expression of the Pomc gene at key times.
article_snippet.sent: The protein that latches on to the enhancer, called a transcription factor, is also vital.
article_snippet.sent: Taken together, this work represents the first example of a neuron-specific gene in vertebrates where we have found both the enhancers and a shared transcription factor that control gene expression in the developing brain and
article_snippet.sent: and there may be other enhancers and transcription factors involved.
article_snippet.sent: But in theory, it could be possible to find drugs to increase the production of Pomc gene products, or to help silence the production of Pomc gene products. '