ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2012) — Approximately 68
percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, according to the National
Cancer Institute, which puts them at greater risk for developing cancer,
cardiovascular disease, diabetes and a host of other chronic illnesses. But an international
team of scientists led by Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center
researcher Andrew Larner, M.D., Ph.D., has successfully reversed obesity in
mice by manipulating the production of an enzyme known as tyrosine-protein
kinase-2 (Tyk2). In their experiments, the scientists discovered that Tyk2
helps regulate obesity in mice and humans through the differentiation of a type
of fat tissue known as brown adipose tissue (BAT).
Published
December 5 in the online edition of the journal Cell Metabolism, the study
is the first to provide evidence of the relationship between Tyk2 and BAT.
Previous studies by Larner and his team discovered that Tyk2 helps suppress the
growth and metastasis of breast cancer, and now the current study suggests this
same enzyme could help protect against and even reverse obesity.
The
scientists were able to reverse obesity in mice that do not express Tyk2 by
expressing a protein known as signal transducer and activator of
transcription-3 (Stat3). Stat3 mediates the expression of a variety of genes
that regulate a host of cellular processes. The researchers found that Stat3
formed a complex with a protein known as PR domain containing 16 (PRDM16) to
restore the development of BAT and decrease obesity.
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