Nature Sub-Journal: The fatter women are, the more they have an advantage!

In daily life, boys and girls are very different in many aspects such as behavior, thinking, and cognition

In school, boys are considered more suitable for studying science

The famous American psychologist John Gray once compared men to Martians and women to Venusians

Some scholars have pointed out that gender karyotype has a great influence on diet-induced obesity, explaining the response of men and women to diet

There are also gender differences in the body's metabolism

Recently, a study by the University of Cincinnati was published in the journal Nature-Metabolism

Image source: Nature's official website

This study uses high-throughput omics techniques to compare molecular differences between different individuals, link these differences with physiological functions or disease states, and explore how genetic variation and gender differences affect mitochondria and their functions

The mitochondria are covered by two layers of membranes, which are the main places where cells perform aerobic respiration

There are gender differences in the metabolic phenotypes of mice, humans, and other species

First, an increase in female idiosyncratic mitochondria was found in the fat of mice and humans

In mice (top) and humans (bottom), female adipose tissue (left) has a higher mitochondrial OXPHOS gene

Second, it has been found in mice and humans that mitochondria in fat can predict metabolic syndrome

The researchers used the mtDNA copy number in fat to represent the quality of mitochondria, and found that the mtDNA content of female mice was significantly rich, and the mtDNA level and metabolic characteristics showed a strong correlation: the fat mtDNA copy number was correlated with body weight and the steady state of insulin resistance.

Then, the research team explored the contribution of natural genetic variation to the regulation of mitochondrial metabolic traits, and fed mice with high-fat and high-sucrose (HF/HS) feed to change the genetic variation of gene expression levels

Females carrying the TT genotype have significantly reduced body weight

Finally, the research focused on the Ndufv2 gene, which is a potential homeopathic gene located in fat

The expression of Ndufv2 in females is higher than that in males
.
In the female population, the expression level of TT genotype is higher

In summary, whether in mice or humans, the function of mitochondria in female fat is higher than that of males, and the function of mitochondria is closely related to obesity, insulin resistance and blood lipids
.

This study determined that mitochondrial transcripts are different in different tissues and genders, and the number of mitochondrial DNA copies has a strong correlation with the metabolic characteristics of mice and humans
.

Finally, it was found that the Ndufv2 gene in fat regulates obesity by promoting mitochondrial function and transcripts in different genders
.

These aptly belong to the "gender advantage" of girls, fat girls finally have an excuse not to lose weight! In addition to keeping warm, there are more mitochondria in female fat, which has a higher protective effect against metabolic diseases!