Original title: "Burning" the key mechanism of fat discovery

According to a study published in the journal Nature Communications on October 13, a team led by Spain's National Cancer Research Center has discovered a fat burning mechanism controlled by mitochondrial proteins. This mechanism helps scientists explore new ways to prevent obesity and related metabolic diseases.

Obesity is the result of excessive food intake or insufficient total energy expenditure. Scientists know that adipose tissue (body fat) plays a vital role in managing energy in addition to storing it. Adipose tissue is a regulator of metabolism throughout the body, so improving its function is likely to be an effective way to combat obesity.

There are two types of adipose tissue: white fat and brown fat. White fat is mainly responsible for storing energy, while brown fat (whose cells contain more mitochondria and thus appear brown) is responsible for generating heat, that is, maintaining body temperature, a process triggered by cold or other stimuli. Over the past decade, studies have shown that activating brown fat can help prevent obesity and metabolic diseases. It has long been thought that making brown fat heat and using more energy to produce heat can prevent obesity, but this requires an understanding of how brown fat works.

The study found that there are multiple mechanisms involved in the heat production of brown fat, which is mainly controlled by a mitochondrial protein called MCJ. When the MCJ protein was removed from obese mice, these mice produced more calories and lost weight. Transplantation of brown fat without MCJ protein to these mice resulted in a successful weight loss.

The researchers observed that mice that did not have the MCJ protein in brown fat avoided the health problems caused by obesity, such as diabetes or elevated blood lipids. Therefore, they believe that MCJ protein may be a new target for the treatment of obesity-related diseases.

The researchers explained that no MCJ protein has a protective effect on health. This is due to the activation of an essential signaling pathway, which allows the mice to adapt to the stress caused by obesity. This pathway is known as the catabolic pathway, and it increases the consumption of fats, sugars, and proteins, which in turn produces calories in brown fat. This mechanism also occurs in people who are very active in brown fat. (Zhang Jiaxin)