Scientists take aim at obesity-linked protein
Is there a way to get metabolism to ramp up -- even when it's not cold out? TSRI Assistant Professor Anutosh Chakraborty is on a mission to answer this question. His past research revealed a new therapeutic target in this battle -- a protein that actually promotes fat accumulation in animal models by slowing stored energy (fat) breakdown and encouraging weight gain. Now, in a study recently published online in the journal Molecular Metabolism , Chakraborty and his colleagues have shown that deleting the gene for this protein, known as IP6K1, protects animal models from both obesity and diabetes. This protective effect is seen regardless of diet, even at what's known as a thermoneutral temperature (around 86?F). This means inhibiting IP6K1 should help animals burn more energy, regardless of outside conditions. "In genetically altered animal models that lack IP6K1, we found that deletion dramatically protects these knock-out mice from diet-induced obesity and insul...