Researchers have identified a key gene which has made it possible to develop a new way to suppress obesity that is accompanied by a high-sugar diet.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Southern California. Many pharmaceutical companies have already developed drugs to target this gene in question. Researcher Sean Curran of the USC Davis School of Gerontology researched this gene in the past but all his studies were solely on the worm Caenorhabditis elegans and human cells in a petri dish. However, this new study revealed that this genetic pathway is found in almost all animals from yeast to humans.
In the new study, the researchers found that certain genetic mutants, especially those with a hyperactive SKN-1 gene, could be fed incredibly high-sugar diets without gaining any weight, while regular C. elegans gained weight on the same diet.
"The high-sugar diet that the bacteria ate was the equivalent of a human eating the Western diet," Curran said in a press statement.
The same gene is also found in humans and is known as Nrf2. This is a protein known as a "transcription factor" that binds to a specific sequence of DNA to control the ability of cells to detox or repair damage when exposed to chemically reactive oxygen.
"Perhaps it is a matter of timing and location," Curran said. "If we can acutely activate Nrf2 in specific tissues when needed then maybe we can take advantage of its potential benefits."
Findings of the study were published online in the journal Nature Communications. This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Ellison Medical Foundation and the American Federation of Aging Research.
