USF1 implicated in the aetiology of familial combined hyperlipidaemia and the metabolic syndrome

The upstream stimulatory factor (USF) proteins are ubiquitously expressed and, as such, represent unusual candidates for involvement in disorders of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. Nonetheless, a recent study has reported an association between specific alleles of USF1 and familial combined hyperlipidaemia, a common disorder that substantially increases the risk of premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. USF1 might, therefore, also contribute to the metabolic syndrome. The use of chromatin immunoprecipitation methodologies combined with promoter microarray assays will help to define the transcriptional networks that underlie whole-body glucose and lipid homeostasis.