Experts from the University of California San Diego in the US have discovered in a study on mice that a single gene is responsible for fat cells “losing their ability to burn energy”.
He found that when rodents were fed a high-fat diet, their cells broke down and became less effective at burning fat.
This probably explains why obesity causes people’s metabolism to slow down.
THE ONLY GENE RESPONSIBLE FOR FAT BURNING
The researchers discovered that this whole process is controlled by a single gene.
When this gene was removed through gene editing, it stopped the rodents from gaining excess weight, even when eating the same high-fat diet.
The team wanted to study how obesity affects our mitochondria and to unravel why being obese slows down metabolism.
“Calorie overload from overeating can cause weight gain and also triggers a metabolic process that reduces energy burning, making obesity worse,” said Dr. Alan Saltiel, professor of medicine at UC San Diego.
According to the doctor, this gene is a critical part of the transition from healthy weight to obesity.
WHY IS IT HARD TO LOSE WEIGHT?
When people consume more calories than they burn, the ability of fat cells to burn energy starts to fail.
This is one of the reasons why obese people find it difficult to lose weight.
But how fat cells start to break down is one of the biggest mysteries of obesity.
The researchers measured the effect of a diet high in fat on mitochondria, the powerhouse that helps mice burn fat.
After eating the diet, the mice’s mitochondria split into smaller, ineffective mitochondria that burned less fat.
This process is carried out by a single gene called “RaIA”, which has many functions.
A NEW LOOK AT THE TREATMENT OF OBESITY IN HUMANS
New findings show that when this gene overreacts, it interferes with the normal functioning of mitochondria and triggers fat cells not to burn energy.
The researchers found that some RaIA-affected proteins in mice are similar to human proteins linked to obesity and insulin resistance.
This suggests that similar mechanisms may play a role in humans.
“The direct comparison between the basic biology we discovered and actual clinical outcomes underscores the relevance of the findings to humans and suggests that we may be able to help prevent obesity with new treatments,” Dr. Saltiel said.
