fat metabolism tagged posts

Beneficial gut microbes and the body work together to fine-tune fat metabolism and cholesterol levels, according to a new preclinical study by investigators from Weill Cornell Medicine and the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University’s Ithaca campus.

The research is published in the journal Nature.

The human body has co-evolved with the beneficial microbes that live in the gut (termed the microbiota), resulting in mutually favorable relationships that aid in the d...

A decline in metabolism and endurance of skeletal muscle is commonly observed in obese patients, but the underlying mechanism is not well-understood. A research team led by Dr. Chi Bun Chan, Assistant Professor from School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), uncovers a new mechanism to explain how obesity jeopardizes the functions of skeletal muscle and provides a potential treatment against the disease. The research findings have recently been published in the journal Autophagy.

Obesity is a metabolic disorder with increasing prevalence in modern society...

Blocking the activity of a fat-regulating enzyme in the muscles of mice leads to an increased capacity for endurance exercise, according to the results of a new study. Sugars and fats are the primary fuels that power every cell, tissue and organ. For most cells, sugar is the energy source of choice, but when nutrients are scarce, such as during starvation or extreme exertion, cells will switch to breaking down fats instead.

The mechanisms for how cells rewire their metabolism in response to changes in resource availability are not yet fully understood, but new research reveals a surprising consequence when one such mechanism is turned off: an increased capacity for endurance (exercise.

In a study published in the Aug...

FLP-7 and NPR-22 function as a fat regulatory neuroendocrine ligand-receptor pair in vivo.

Biologists at TSRI have identified a brain hormone that appears to trigger fat burning in the gut. Their findings in animal models could have implications for future pharmaceutical development. “This was basic science that unlocked an interesting mystery,” said TSRI Assistant Professor Supriya Srinivasan. Previous studies had shown that serotonin can drive fat loss. Yet no one was sure exactly how.

To answer that question, Srinivasan and her colleagues experimented with C. elegans, which are often used as model organisms in biology...