▎ WuXi AppTec content team editor
When you realize that the fat on your stomach is increasing, especially when the size of your pants in the past can no longer fit your waist, you know you need to lose weight. But it is easy to say, it is difficult to act, to lose weight is nothing more than eating less, more exercise, one is to reduce energy intake, the other is to accelerate metabolism, if you tell you that injections may be able to lose weight...
This is not referring to the three products on the market, but a new research content of the University of Texas in the United States. By inhibiting the activity of a liver enzyme, the university's researchers succeeded in reducing the appetite of the mice and making their energy consumption in adipose tissue more efficient.
According to their new article in Cellular Metabolism, there are two proteins in the liver that are important for metabolism, one is growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15), which transmits signals to control food intake to two regions of the back of the brain as a way to reduce our eating. Another protein is fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), which transmits signals to brown adipose tissue as well as white adipose tissue, allowing them to increase the efficiency of energy expenditure.
Normally, these two proteins can work together to allow us to reduce our appetite for food and burn the body's calories. Of course, this mechanism must be regulated by a regulator to prevent individuals from "starving" themselves by suppressing excessive eating. The liver enzyme CNOT6L plays a key role, which is essentially a class of deadenosine enzymes that degrade the mRNA required for the protein translation process. In the liver, CNOT6L works against the mRNA of GDF15 and FGF21, making it impossible for these two proteins to encode.
▲ Controlling the relationship between the three proteins can help individuals lose weight (Image source: Reference [2])
Under normal circumstances, this protective mechanism has become a burden for obese people, which will only make it more difficult to lose weight. The researchers specifically designed CNOT6L inhibitors, which they call iD1, to remove metabolic regulators from the body. They first bred a batch of obese mice with a high-fat diet and then delivered iD1 to mice by intravenous injection.
After 12 weeks of continuous treatment, the mice directly reduced their food intake by 30%, their energy expenditure in adipose tissue increased by 15%, and their overall fat content in the liver decreased by 30%. The indicator that everyone is most concerned about, the weight of the mice has also decreased by 30%. In addition to these numbers, many physiological indicators of obese mice also improved, such as increased sensitivity to insulin and decreased glucose levels in the blood.
Image credit: 123RF
"This is a completely new concept in the treatment of metabolic diseases," said Professor Nicolas Musi, co-author of the study, which points out that obesity has brought a more severe health burden to society and individuals, the number of obese people is gradually rising, and the related diseases continue to be high, especially the heart attack, stroke, diabetes and even cancer cases caused by obesity are constantly occurring. "This is a very serious problem and any intervention that can stop obesity from occurring is a must," Professor Musi added.
Their next step is to plan a more refined analysis of the molecular mechanisms of these proteins in the liver to find more drug targets that can be targeted. Until then, please continue to control your food intake with your willpower!
Resources:
[1] Boosting liver mRNAs curbs appetite, body weight in obese mice. Retrieved Apr 6th, 2022 from https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/948796
[2] Deadenylase-dependent mRNA decay of GDF15 and FGF21 orchestrates food intake and energy expenditure. Cell Metabolism（2022）, DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2022.03.005
More recommendations
Click "Watching" and go again