New Gene Target to Prevent Obesity

Obesity is a disorder involving excessive body fat and it is the leading preventable cause of death worldwide. Lack of physical activity and excessive food intake can cause obesity and lead to various diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Lifestyle changes including, diet and exercise, are common ways to treat obesity. The most effective obesity treatment is surgery, but it can be risky and expensive. Researchers are trying to develop other effective and less invasive treatments and therapeutics, especially with the number of adult and childhood obesity cases on the rise.

In a recent publication, the regulator of Calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) was identified as a potential target for combating obesity. RCAN1 is a feedback inhibitor of the calcium‐activated protein phosphatase calcineurin and can suppress two different mechanisms of non‐shivering thermogenesis in white fat and skeletal muscle. Previous studies have targeted mechanisms to burn excess calories as heat rather than store the calories as fat. The data suggests that mice deficient for Rcan1 have an increased metabolic rate and are resistant to diet‐induced obesity. Further studies are needed to determine if targeting RCAN1 can also be effective in humans. Therapeutic development by targeting RCAN1 to burn more calories at rest and store less fat without the need to reduce food consumption or exercise would help combat obesity.
For more information: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30389725

Enzo Life Sciences provides a wide range of products for all your Metabolism needs. Our platforms provide a wide range of small molecules, antibodies, and proteins including Calcineurin. Our Calcineurin cellular activity assay kit measures cellular calcineurin (PP2B) phosphatase activity in tissue/cellular extracts in a convenient 96-well plate format. Our Calcineurin Phosphatase assay kit is designed for inhibitor screening or kinetic assays of recombinant Calcineurin.

comments powered by Disqus