How the Asprosin Hormone Effects Obesity and Diabetes
Recently scientist have
discovered a potential obesity treatment by targeting a glucose-releasing
hormone called asprosin that is involved in regulating appetite in mice. This
hormone will normally home on the neurons that regulate appetite. In a recent
study, Chopra and colleagues studied two people with Neonatal Progeroid
Syndrome (NPS) and found that they normally have a lower food intake and an
energy expenditure. The team also discovered that NPS patients are heterozygous
for FBN1 which is a mutation at the end of a gene. They typically have reduced
levels of the hormone asprosin. In this study, a mouse was generated with a heterozygous
mutation that truncates FBN1 and is identical to one in an NPS patient.
The model mouse had less circulating asprosin and was
very lean due to the decrease food intake compared to other wild-type mice. The
mouse was fed a high fat diet for 6 months and did not become obese. Wild-type
mice were under the same conditions and did become obese and glucose
intolerant. In another experiment, an antibody was injected which binded and inactivated
the asprosin which decreased body weight and feeding in obese mice. The team
wants to continue testing their hypothesis in more experiments before studying
with humans. This is an interesting finding since it can open up opportunities
for new methods to help obesity and diabetes.
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