Navigation Links
Eat less, weigh more? Enzyme makes lean mice 'susceptible' to dietary fat

Working with genetically engineered mice, Johns Hopkins scientists have interfered with the brain's ability to control an animal's response to a high-fat diet. The report, to be published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences online the week of May 1, is based on the identification of a gene - CPT1c - the brain needs to manage body weight.

According to the researchers, the CPT1c gene protects against weight gain caused by a high-fat diet. So-called knockout mice lacking the CPT1c gene gain more weight than their littermates carrying normal copies of the gene.

"We think our study reveals a direct weight management pathway," says Michael Wolfgang, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biological Chemistry at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and an author of the report. "CPT1c seems to allow the body to respond immediately to the level of nutrients and fat in the bloodstream."

Hopeful that the discovery has broad implications for understanding the genetic underpinnings of obesity and weight management, the Hopkins investigators say the work affirms the central role of the brain in managing hunger and satiety and offers up new targets for drugs that manipulate CPT1c. But none have been developed so far, says Wolfgang.

The newly discovered gene makes a protein found only in the brain, notably in the region that controls hunger, thirst and metabolism - the hypothalamus. Proteins similar to CPT1c are known to help break down fat to release energy to feed cells. Mice lacking the CPT1c gene are the same length as their littermates who carry normal copies of the gene but on average weigh 15 percent less when fed a low-fat diet.

Further analysis revealed that when deprived of food for four hours prior to feeding with standard laboratory mouse chow, the knockout mutant mice ate about 25 percent less food than their normal siblings. Therefore, the researchers concluded
'"/>

Source:Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Research may provide new link between soft drinks and weight gain
2. Eating, body weight regulated by specific neurons
3. An essential regulator of body weight revealed
4. Engineers discover why toucan beaks are models of lightweight strength
5. Its not fair! We are programmed to resist weight loss
6. Just like us, social stress prompts hamsters to overeat, gain weight
7. Very low birth weight linked to reduced quality of life in pre-school children
8. 76 percent of workers older than 60 years of age are overweight or obese
9. Brown seaweed contains promising fat fighter, weight reducer
10. Underweight women at greater risk of miscarriage
11. Scripps research team discovers a chemical pathway that causes mice to overeat and gain weight
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Eat less weigh more Enzyme makes lean mice susceptible dietary fat

(Date:5/23/2013)... Pacific Northwest National Laboratory honored more than ... of intellectual property at PNNL,s annual Intellectual Property ... The Department of Energy national laboratory named materials ... his work developing battery materials that can store ... electrical grid, and reduce the time it takes ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... genomic DNA around nucleosomes in the cell nucleus ... of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich now describes a ... displaced from nucleosomes for transcription. , In higher ... cell nucleus, wrapped around disk-shaped particles called nucleosomes, ... histone proteins and accommodating two loops of DNA. ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... Bochum,s medics have succeeded in treating cerebral palsy with ... brain damage, a 2.5 year old boy had been ... of survival. Just two months after treatment with the ... over the following months, the child learned to speak ... those from a Korean study, dispel the long-held doubts ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):PNNL staff recognized for scientific accomplishments, moving technologies into the marketplace 2Biochemistry: Unspooling DNA from nucleosomal disks 2First successful treatment of pediatric cerebral palsy with autologous cord blood 2
... plays a major role in seagrass fields. Dutch ... seagrasses in Indonesia. He discovered that the interaction ... efficient nitrogen cycle in tropical seagrass fields. Consequently ... Seagrass fields are coastal ecosystems with ...
... of humpback whales in the North Pacific Ocean has ... the 1960s and 70s, according to a new study ... 400 whale researchers throughout the Pacific region. ... the Western Pacific Ocean, have not recovered at the ...
... a growing scarcity of energy commodities worldwide has heightened ... conflict in the Middle East, terrorism and resource nationalism. ... Baker Institute for Public Policy suggests that, taken individually, ... may be less catastrophic than they seem at first ...
Cached Biology News:Nitrogen retained through loss 2New study finds most North Pacific humpback whale populations rebounding 2Baker Institute study, conference weigh risks for global energy markets 2
(Date:5/23/2013)... May 23, 2013  BioScrip, Inc. (NASDAQ: ... at the Jefferies 2013 Global Healthcare Conference to be ... York. Richard Smith , ... Tran , Chief Financial Officer, will present on ... Time.   About BioScrip BioScrip, Inc. ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... , May 23, 2013  Rahal Letterman Lanigan ... human cord blood stem cell banking and therapeutics, announced ... the No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts Indy car driven by ... the remainder of the IZOD IndyCar 2013 season.   ... will work to support awareness of umbilical cord blood ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... PARK, Calif. , May 23, 2013 ... oral treatment for pain has reached an important milestone, ... trial of VBY-036 - a selective cathepsin S inhibitor. ... VBY-036 is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study designed to ... doses of VBY-036 in healthy adults. "The ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... The New Jersey chapter of the largest ... Associates (BDPA), is hosting its 10th annual Families in ... event will encourage students and their parents to explore ... from many of the industries’ finest teachers. Held from ... Institute of Technology, the event will include workshops, instruction ...
Breaking Biology Technology:StemCyte, Inc. Joins Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing As Associate Sponsor Of No. 16 IndyCar Program For James Jakes Beginning With The 97th Indianapolis 500 2StemCyte, Inc. Joins Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing As Associate Sponsor Of No. 16 IndyCar Program For James Jakes Beginning With The 97th Indianapolis 500 3Virobay, Inc. initiates a Phase 1 Trial of VBY-036, a compound intended for the treatment of neuropathic pain 2Virobay, Inc. initiates a Phase 1 Trial of VBY-036, a compound intended for the treatment of neuropathic pain 3Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) New Jersey Hosts 10th Annual Families in Technology Day June 8, 2013 2
... 31 Human Genome,Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGSI ) ... Annual Healthcare Conference will be webcast and may,be accessed ... ) A member of Human Genome Sciences, senior ... Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 1:30 pm,Eastern Time. ...
... 31 BioCryst,Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: BCRX ) ... NewsMakers in the Biotech Industry conference in New,York. ... Thursday, September,6, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time ... . The presentation will be archived for seven ...
... SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug. 30 Cepheid (Nasdaq:,CPHD) will ... held at the Four Seasons Hotel, Boston, September ... Bishop and Senior Vice President, Finance and,Chief Financial ... a.m. ET on,September 7. The webcast, along ...
Cached Biology Technology:BioCryst to Present at the BioCentury NewsMakers in the Biotech Industry Conference 2BioCryst to Present at the BioCentury NewsMakers in the Biotech Industry Conference 3Cepheid to Present at Thomas Weisel Partners Healthcare Conference 2