Int j obsity: finding a new mechanism to prevent and reverse obesity

February 14, 2020 / Bio Valley bio on / -- obesity is a global epidemic, which is a known cause of several cancers, including breast cancer, colon cancer and pancreatic cancer Preventing the prevalence of obesity may be an important help in the prevention and treatment of many cancers Researchers at Dartmouth University and Dr Craig Tomlinson's lab at Dartmouth Hitchcock Norris cotton cancer center have identified a key target for this cause The team found that AHR, a receptor found in almost all cells, also plays an important role in the body's metabolism In the study mice, blocking AHR not only prevented obesity, but also reversed it The research team's findings were recently published in the International Journal of objectivity, entitled "reversal of objectivity and never stairs in mice via initiation of aryl hydrogen receptor and altered gene expression of CYP1B1, PPAR α, SCD1, and osteopontin" Source: Craig Tomlinson Tomlinson said: "our experiments showed that when a drug called NF was added to a high-fat diet, the mice were not fatter than the mice on a low-fat diet At the same time, mice on a high-fat diet without NF became very obese No adverse reactions were found "The team then demonstrated that blocking AHR with NF not only prevented obesity, but also reversed it "In these experiments, we put mice on a high-fat diet, and half of them were converted to a high-fat diet containing the AhR receptor blocker NF Over the next few weeks, mice who switched to a high-fat diet containing NF lost as much weight as mice on a low-fat diet The rest of the mice that ate high-fat food became obese "Finally, Tomlinson's team looked at how AHR can prevent and reverse obesity when blocked by NF Using previous knowledge of the key genes that AhR regulates fat metabolism, the team found that in hepatocytes and adipocytes, when AHR is blocked by NF, a cannot induce several key genes needed for fat storage and synthesis They concluded that preventing and reversing obesity prevents AHR activity because the key genes regulated by AHR are involved in fat metabolism "Few studies have shown that drug therapy can reverse obesity; what's more, it's hard to understand its underlying cellular mechanism Tomlinson's team has begun investigating several key issues, including the dietary compounds that activate AHR in the foods we eat and the role of gut bacteria in AHR and obesity Most importantly, they have started a clinical trial to determine whether AHR can be used as a treatment target for reducing human obesity "We are beginning to understand how AHR inhibition prevents and reverses obesity, which may help develop treatments for human obesity," Tomlinson said "Reference: itzel y Rojas et al, reversal of obsity and never stairs in mice via occupation of aryl hydrogen receiver and altered gene expression of CYP1B1, PPAR α, SCD1, and osteopontin, International Journal of obsity (2020) Doi: 10.1038/s41366-019-0512-z