Deleting this gene could allow men to lose fat, build muscle

With the development of the economy and the improvement of living standards, obesity has become a major public health problem worldwide

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 2 billion people in the world are overweight or obese

In fact, obese people are not only inconvenient to live and have reduced exercise capacity, but also more prone to metabolic diseases and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases

Numerous studies have shown that obesity is associated with increased risk, reduced prognosis and reduced survival for more than a dozen types of cancer

Therefore, new interventions to prevent and treat obesity are urgently needed

 Recently, researchers from the University of Western Ontario in the UK published a paper in the International Journal of Obesity

The study found that knocking out the PANX3 gene caused male mice to significantly lose fat and increase muscle mass, an effect equivalent to exercising 1 hour a day, 5 days a week, for 6 weeks

The PANX3 gene is a protein channel-forming glycoprotein that plays a role in intercellular communication

PANX3 is highly expressed in human adipocytes

In this study, the research team knocked out the PANX3 gene in mouse embryos to construct a PANX3 knockout mouse model to study the development and metabolism of these mice with age

The experimental results showed that with age, male mice knocked out of the PANX3 gene lost an average of 46% in body fat mass compared with normal male mice

Without any additional exercise, their fat and muscle mass were comparable to normal male mice, who were forced to exercise 1 hour a day, 5 days a week for 6 weeks

The team noted that this study showed that knocking out the PANX3 gene to reduce fat and increase muscle mass was only seen in males

There was no significant difference in body weight between the two groups

In addition, male mice knocked out of the PANX3 gene also had lower levels of inflammation in the visceral adipose tissue

The study also found that exercise and diet play a role in regulating PANX3

Exercise is known to have good anti-inflammatory effects, said C.

Not only were fewer fat cells observed in these PANX3-knockout male mice, but there was also a significant reduction in inflammatory markers in visceral adipose tissue, better than exercise
.

In addition, the team further studied PANX3-knockout male mice and fed them a high-fat diet, and showed that the difference in body fat between them and normal male mice disappeared
.

That is, knocking out the PANX3 gene allowed male mice to maintain the same fat content and muscle mass as normal mice, who were forced to exercise 1 hour a day, 5 days a week, for 6 weeks without exercising, but also maintained healthy eating habits
.

It also shows once again that obesity is a complex disease, influenced by genes and life>
.
Exercise and a healthy diet are important factors in creating a healthy body, but for obese people, inhibiting the PANX3 gene may change the current status of obesity treatment
.

If a treatment targeting the PANX3 gene could be combined with a healthy diet and exercise, it could greatly speed up the response of obese patients to treatment
.

Given this finding, the lab has now begun the search for inhibitors that can be used to inhibit the function of the human PANX3 gene, says Silvia Penuela, corresponding author of the paper
.

If the PANX3 gene is inhibited, it may have the same effect as knocking out the gene, so it is expected to develop simpler and more effective obesity drugs
.

In addition, the research team's next steps will further investigate why some people are more likely to gain weight while others naturally maintain a healthy weight, and will analyze the PANX3 gene in the human genome to look for certain genetic mutations that promote fat accumulation
.

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