Slow Metabolism to Blame for Weight Gain

Many people blame their high weight on a slow metabolism.  In this article, Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) claim they have discovered a genetic "switch" that can speed up an individual's basal metabolic rate.  This would lead to a reduction in the risk for obesity and diabetes.  Their research, which was published in Nature, involves a process in which a gene that encodes a protein called nicotinamide N- methyltransferase (NNMT) is turned off  This gene is found in the fat cells and the liver.  NNMT is known to process vitamin B3 and was previously linked with certain cancers.  Lead researcher Dr. Barbara Kahn said she and her team began researching NNMT in relation to metabolism after studying GLUT4, a major sugar transporter in the fat cells of genetically engineered mice.  Their research lead to findings that mice that produced large amounts of GLUT4 were insulin sensitive and protected against diabetes, while mice with no GLUT4 were insulin resistant and at risk for diabetes.  This lead to them doing a DNA microarray analysis.  “We extracted the DNA from the fat tissue and analyzed levels of 16,000 genes at the same time ….And we found that the NNMT gene [and the GLUT4 transporter] were the most highly reciprocally regulated,” Kahn said.  This means that the mice without the GLUT4 transporter had higher levels of NNMT.  When the researchers turned off the NNMT gene in mice on high-fat diets, the mice did not gain as much weight compared to when the NNMT gene was functioning normally.  In addition, the mice did not change their eating or exercise habits, showing that the NNMT only affected the mice’s basal metabolic rates and nothing else.  According to Kahn, NNMT affects a biochemical mechanism known as a futile cycle, which plays a role in metabolic regulation.  “If we have an efficient metabolism, we don’t need many calories; the cells can get all the energy we need from a small number of calories,” Kahn said.  “If we have an inefficient metabolism, more calories get burned and we can eat more without gaining weight….But when we knock down this NNMT gene, we affect this [futile cycle].  We speed it up, and it will burn up more calories.”

This new technique could help treat obesity and prevent diabetes.  Obesity and diabetes affects more than 1/3 of adults in the US.  25.8 million people in the world have diabetes, 8.3% of those being Americans.  If we could find techniques to help people control their eating habits, we could save millions of lives and millions of dollars in health care.









Original article: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/04/09/new-genetic-switch-technique-may-lead-to-accelerate-metabolism/
To learn more about obesity and diabetes, visit: http://www.medschool.lsuhsc.edu/genetics_center/louisiana/article_obesitydiabetes.htm

Obesity Cure?

What if there was a way to stop ourselves from getting fat? According to some new research conducted by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) this may be possible and would undoubtedly fulfill every woman’s dream. This discovery entails manipulating our metabolic process in a specific way that would help speed up weight loss. Reducing the enzyme nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT), which is responsible for processing vitamin B3, would speed up cellular reactions and energy utilization in cells. By limiting this enzyme, an acceleration of reactions involving polyamines would occur. Polyamines are required by our body’s organs for growth, renewal and metabolism. This cycle requires energy, which results in calorie loss. Qin Yang, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School states, “…we have identified an entirely new role for this enzyme in fat tissue, and that is to regulate energy metabolism.” Researchers also worked with mice to study the effects of NNMT and the development of diabetes. Mice that contained a lot of this enzyme in the fat and liver were more prone to developing diabetes. This new discovery is important with the growing size of obesity in the United States.  The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states, “While diet and exercise are important in controlling weight, anti-obesity therapies could be of tremendous help”. Could this be the future of weight loss?

               The technology of our world is an amazing thing and it is unbelievable to hear of new research discoveries such as this one. Even though diet and exercise should be the most important thing for anyone, specifically those fighting obesity, this discovery could be used as a tool to aid in the battle against weight-loss. But what about those who want to do it naturally? The link below provides some tips to speed up your metabolism:

15 Easy Ways To Speed Up Your Metabolism

Turning Off A Fat Accumulation Gene To Reduce Obesity

 In this short article, it discusses how investigators from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have found a "switch" (in mice) that can accelerate a person's basal metabolic rate, which could lead to the decrease of obesity and diabetes. The research involves "turning off" a gene that encodes for a protein called nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT). The gene was turned off using antisense oligonucleotide technology, which can be designed to prevent the synthesis of specific proteins. This allowed the researches to interrupt only the expression of the gene in fat cells and the liver.  This protein has also been linked to some forms of cancer. If this research turns out to be applicable to people, those who have "slow metabolism" could use this discovery as a great equalizer. This seems like a quick and easy fix but there is no telling what the negative short term or long term ramifications could be by turning off this, or any other gene. Before they try this on people I think there needs to be some longitudinal type studies to ensure that turning off a gene does not cause some other catastrophic failure within the body.  

Related Article (original study): http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v508/n7495/full/nature13198.html