Metabolism Accelerator
A new safe method of treating obesity has been discovered
Maria Azarova, Naked Science
Obesity and metabolic disorders occur as a result of the constant excess of energy consumption over its consumption. Modern methods of treatment aimed at changing eating behavior, unlike bariatric surgery, have not proven effective in reducing and maintaining a healthy weight. One of the reasons is that appetite–controlling therapy affects behavior, including anxiety levels and emotionality, as well as the development of cardiovascular diseases. As a result, this is fraught with serious side effects.
Scientists from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research (Australia) have proposed a new way to combat obesity: they have shown that the Y1 receptor may be the key to developing safer approaches. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications (Yan et al., Peripheral-specific Y1 receptor antagonism increases thermogenesis and protects against diet-induced obesity).
One of the most powerful regulators of nutrition and metabolism is neuropeptide Y (NPY), which is produced during fasting: it allows the body to reduce energy consumption, activate fat accumulation and thereby supports it in survival conditions. The molecule is expressed in the central nervous system and acts by transmitting signals through the receptors Y1, Y2, Y4, Y5 and Y6. In addition, NPY and Y-receptors are markedly expressed on the periphery.
With the help of experimental models, scientists unexpectedly found out that blocking a certain neuropeptide Y receptor – the Y1 molecule – allows you to speed up fat metabolism and prevent weight gain. Then the authors of the work blocked Y1 in obese mice by means of BIBO3304, a selective antagonist of peripheral action Y1 (it does not penetrate the blood–brain barrier, therefore it acts on the transmission of Y1 signals in peripheral tissues, and not in the brain).
As it turned out, animals that were injected with BIBO3304 and prescribed a high-fat diet gained about 40% less weight in seven weeks of the experiment than mice who simply followed a similar diet. Such a significant decrease in weight gain was caused by an increase in body heat and a decrease in fat mass.
Additional tests have confirmed that selective removal of Y1 from fat cells protects against weight gain. When BIBO3304 was applied to samples taken from obese patients, the same genes involved in heat production were triggered as in overweight mice. "The Y1 receptor acts as a brake for generating heat in the body," he said Yang-Chuan Shi, group leader. – We found that its blocking in adipose tissues transformed the fat “storing energy” into “burning energy". This included heat generation and reduced weight gain. <...> Most medications used today to treat obesity target the brain and appetite suppression, but may have serious side effects limiting their use."
Undoubtedly, the scientists add, the study cannot be taken as unequivocal evidence that blocking Y1 receptors in peripheral tissues, without affecting the central nervous system, effectively prevents obesity by increasing energy consumption. However, it provides an alternative approach and a safer method of prevention and treatment that directly affects adipose tissue.
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