SRC-1 gene was found to affect body weight control by regulating the function of neurons in the hypothalamus - the appetite center of the brain, said a team led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Cambridge reports in the journal Nature Communications.
Maintaining a healthy body weight is no simple matter. A better understanding of how the body regulates appetite could help tip the scale toward the healthy side.
Carbohydrates and Its Role in Obesity
Over 1 billion people world-wide are obese thus affecting their health due to their nutrition and lifestyle. 3.9% of India's population is obese! Know more about obesity and its prevention.
Advertisement
‘SRC-1 is an important regulator of body weight. ’
Tweet it Now
Mice lacking the SRC-1 gene eat more and become obese. SRC-1 also seems to be involved in regulating human body weight. The researchers identified in severely obese children 15 rare SRC-1 genetic variants that disrupt its function. When mice were genetically engineered to express one of these variants, the animals ate more and gained weight.
"The protein called steroid receptor coactivator-1 (SRC-1) is known to participate in the regulation of body weight, but its precise role is not clear," said co-corresponding author Dr. Yong Xu, associate professor of pediatrics and of molecular and cellular biology and a researcher at the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital. "Here we explored the role of SRC-1 in the hypothalamus, a brain area that regulates appetite."
![Quiz on Obesity]( "Quiz on Obesity")
"We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are". - Adelle Davis There are thousands out there battling 'the bulge'. With childhood obesity on the rise even children are not spared. If your weight issues are threatening to weigh you down learn more about obesity by taking part in this quiz.
The researchers discovered that SRC-1 is highly expressed in the hypothalamus of mice, specifically in neurons that express the Pomc gene. Pomc neurons are known to regulate appetite and body weight.
Further experiments showed that SRC-1 is involved in regulating the expression of Pomc gene in these cells. When Xu and his colleagues deleted the SRC-1 gene in Pomc neurons, the cells expressed less Pomc and the mice ate more and became obese.
"We had identified a group of severely obese children carrying rare genetic variants in the SRC-1 gene," said co-corresponding author Dr. I. Sadaf Farooqi, professor of metabolism and medicine in the Department of Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge and Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow.
Working together, Xu, Sadaf Farooqi and their colleagues found that many of the SRC-1 variants in the obese children produced dysfunctional proteins that disrupted the normal function of SRC-1. On the other hand, SRC-1 variants in healthy individuals did not disrupt SRC-1 function. Furthermore, mice genetically engineered to express one of the human SRC-1 genetic variants found in obese children ate more and gained weight. This is the first report of SRC-1 playing a role in the hypothalamus in the context of body weight control.
Source: Eurekalert
Quiz on Obesity
"We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are". - Adelle Davis There are thousands out there battling 'the bulge'. With childhood obesity on the rise even children are not spared. If your weight issues are threatening to weigh you down learn more about obesity by taking part in this quiz.
Advertisement
The researchers discovered that SRC-1 is highly expressed in the hypothalamus of mice, specifically in neurons that express the Pomc gene. Pomc neurons are known to regulate appetite and body weight.
Further experiments showed that SRC-1 is involved in regulating the expression of Pomc gene in these cells. When Xu and his colleagues deleted the SRC-1 gene in Pomc neurons, the cells expressed less Pomc and the mice ate more and became obese.
"We had identified a group of severely obese children carrying rare genetic variants in the SRC-1 gene," said co-corresponding author Dr. I. Sadaf Farooqi, professor of metabolism and medicine in the Department of Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge and Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow.
Working together, Xu, Sadaf Farooqi and their colleagues found that many of the SRC-1 variants in the obese children produced dysfunctional proteins that disrupted the normal function of SRC-1. On the other hand, SRC-1 variants in healthy individuals did not disrupt SRC-1 function. Furthermore, mice genetically engineered to express one of the human SRC-1 genetic variants found in obese children ate more and gained weight. This is the first report of SRC-1 playing a role in the hypothalamus in the context of body weight control.
Source: Eurekalert
Body Mass Index
The BMI calculator helps you assess your weight indicating if it is normal or if you are underweight or overweight, based on your height.
Advertisement
 Giving Plain Facts About Health Risks of Sugary Drinks may Lower Childhood Obesity RiskGiving pregnant women and new mothers the plain facts about the health risks of drinking sugary beverages may help decrease childhood obesity, finds a new study. | Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Reading
Latest Research News
The model for memory consolidation claims that the hippocampus forms new memories and, as time goes on, trains the cortex to store enduring memories.
The model for memory consolidation claims that the hippocampus forms new memories and, as time goes on, trains the cortex to store enduring memories.
A new study explored the link between T immune cells in ill patients and mortality risk.
Limb savage procedure benefits patients with severe vascular disease who are at risk for amputation of their limbs.
Does omega-3 help Alzheimer's patients? A new form of omega-3 helped restore specific markers of eye health in mice bred with aspects of early-onset Alzheimer's disease.