Posted on 07/08/2024 12:38:23 PM PDT by Red Badger
Not all fat cells are bad.
Image credit: Nilang Kachare/Shutterstock.com
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Scientists have figured out a way to transform white fat cells into beige ones, effectively forcing them to burn calories rather than store them. Though the feat has so far only been achieved in mice, the researchers say their discovery could lead to the development of new weight-loss treatments for humans.
We all have three basic types of fat cell - white, brown and beige. White fat cells store lipids and cause us to gain weight when we have too many of them. Brown fat cells, on the other hand, are designed to burn calories in order to keep us warm, although most of these are used up by the time we are a year old.
The beige variety, meanwhile, persists throughout our lives and has the ability to perform both functions, storing energy when needed and burning it on demand. Interestingly, white fat cells can become beige as a result of exercise or cold exposure, and scientists have spent years looking for a way to control this process pharmacologically.
In previous work on mice, researchers discovered that the distinction between the various types of fat cell depends largely on a protein called KLF-15, which is present in much higher concentrations in brown and beige fat cells than in the white variety. The authors of a new study therefore decided to breed a line of mice that completely lacked this protein in their white fat cells, and found that this caused them to transform into beige fat cells.
“A lot of people thought this wasn’t feasible,” said study author Brian Feldman in a statement. “We showed not only that this approach works to turn these white fat cells into beige ones, but also that the bar to doing so isn’t as high as we’d thought.”
Indeed, all it takes is the suppression of a single protein to achieve the transformation - in rodents, at least. To get a better idea of whether or not this would work on people, the researchers examined the role that KLF-15 plays in cultured human fat cells.
Results indicated that the protein interacts with a type of receptor called Adrb1, which plays a key role in maintaining energy balance. This discovery could provide a vital piece of the puzzle, since scientists had previously focussed much of their attention on a related receptor called Adrb3, which has been shown to influence weight loss in mice.
Drugs that target Adrb3 in humans, however, have proven ineffective. The study authors therefore suspect that the development of new drugs that interact with Adrb1 might have a better chance of successfully alleviating obesity by converting white fat cells into beige ones.
“We’re certainly not at the finish line, but we’re close enough that you can clearly see how these discoveries could have a big impact on treating obesity,” says Feldman.
The study has been published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
https://www.jci.org/articles/view/172360
Mind boggling indeed, especially considering that it works all the time.
But it's annoying, and Americans want ease and convenience every step of the way.
I was approximately 20+ pounds overweight after all my pregnancies. I walked ... a lot. Ate less, moved more and shazzam, the weight came off.
I'm not gifted with will power or magical metabolism. Far from it. My ideal night is pizza, beer, and couch time.
But I wanted weight loss and fitness and I did what it took to get it.
If a lazy person like me can do it anyone can.
So, it works like statins.
If my fat burned it would be enough to heat a city up north.
I made the mistake of going on a fast before my last checkup. I wanted to impress mu doctor on a little weight loss. The blood panel showed my bilirubin levels sky high and he wants to do a scan of my liver. I said whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on. I told him I was on a fast but he paid me no attention and didn’t write it down. Now go look in those medical books or even Wikipedia and see that bilirubin levels increase during a fast. So no, no liver scan for me.
In this instance, the west Texan is quite correct.
Which is a surprise, given how they drive.
“What could go wrong?”
Ever read the short story by Stephen King, “Thinner”?
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