New weight loss discovery by Harvard scientists moves us closer to 'the Pill' for obesity

New research in the FASEB Journal opens the door for a new obesity and diabetes drug that works by blocking Klotho protein function

2011-03-08

(Press-News.org) An important discovery in mice may make a big difference in people's waistlines thanks to a team of Harvard scientists who found that reducing the function of a transmembrane protein, called Klotho, in obese mice with high blood sugar levels produced lean mice with reduced blood sugar levels. This protein also exists in humans, suggesting that selectively targeting Klotho could lead to a new class of drugs to reduce obesity and possibly Type 2 diabetes for people. This finding was recently published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org).

"Our study is a small step toward reducing the sufferings of obese and diabetic individuals to bring back the joy of healthy life," said M. Shawkat Razzaque, M.D., Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Department of Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity at Harvard School of Dental Medicine in Boston. "In the dark horizon of obesity and diabetes, Klotho brings a ray of hope."

To make this discovery, Razzaque and colleagues fed increased amounts of food to leptin-deficient mice with the Klotho protein which caused obesity with high blood sugar levels. A second set of mice was bred that was both leptin- and Klotho-deficient, and was fed the same diet as the first set. The second set of mice was lean and had low blood sugar levels, suggesting that reduced Klotho function may not only diminish obesity, but also decrease blood sugar levels. Furthermore, mice without Klotho function gained no body weight after eating a high-fat diet, while mice with functioning Klotho proteins gained body weight following a high-fat diet.

"In Greek mythology, Klotho was the youngest of three fates, the one responsible for spinning the thread of life; since then we have learned that obesity cuts the thread short," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "It's good to know that the new molecular biology of Klotho points to agents that will keep us fit and well-spun."

### Receive monthly highlights from The FASEB Journal by e-mail. Sign up at http://www.faseb.org/fjupdate.aspx. The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) is published by the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) and celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2011. Over the past quarter century, the journal has been recognized by the Special Libraries Association as one of the top 100 most influential biomedical journals of the past century and is the most cited biology journal worldwide according to the Institute for Scientific Information.

FASEB comprises 23 societies with more than 100,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. FASEB enhances the ability of scientists and engineers to improve—through their research—the health, well-being and productivity of all people. FASEB's mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to our member societies and collaborative advocacy.

Details: Mutsuko Ohnishi, Shigeko Kato, Junko Akiyoshi, Azeddine Atfi, and M. Shawkat Razzaque. Dietary and genetic evidence for enhancing glucose metabolism and reducing obesity by inhibiting klotho functions. FASEB J fj.10-167056; doi:10.1096/fj.10-167056 ; http://www.fasebj.org/content/early/2011/03/07/fj.10-167056.abstract

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Ultra fast photodetectors out of carbon nanotubes

2011-03-08

This release is available in German. Carbon nanotubes have a multitude of unusual properties which make them promising candidates for optoelectronic components. However, so far it has proven extremely difficult to analyze or influence their optic and electronic properties. A team of researchers headed by Professor Alexander Holleitner, a physicist at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen and member of the Cluster of Excellence Nanosystems Munich (NIM), has now succeeded in developing a measurement method allowing a time-based resolution of the so-called photocurrent ...

Multiple sclerosis blocked in mouse model

2011-03-08

Scientists have blocked harmful immune cells from entering the brain in mice with a condition similar to multiple sclerosis (MS). According to researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, this is important because MS is believed to be caused by misdirected immune cells that enter the brain and damage myelin, an insulating material on the branches of neurons that conduct nerve impulses. New insights into how the brain regulates immune cell entry made the accomplishment possible. Washington University scientists had borrowed an anti-cancer drug ...

Fossil bird study describes ripple effect of extinction in animal kingdom

2011-03-08

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- A University of Florida study demonstrates extinction's ripple effect through the animal kingdom, including how the demise of large mammals 20,000 years ago led to the disappearance of one species of cowbird. The study shows the trickle-down effect the loss of large mammals has on other species, and researchers say it is a lesson from the past that should be remembered when making conservation, game and land-use decisions today. "There's nothing worse for a terrestrial ecosystem than the loss of large mammals – and the loss of apex predators like ...

University of Missouri researcher study provides insight into how corn makes hormones

2011-03-08

Columbia, MO -- It's a corn plant only a geneticist could love, but an MU researcher has found a way to help scientists love it. Instead of the characteristic fan-like tassel that waves majestically atop the stalk, this corn plant sends up a cartoonishly skinny stick. Its ears -- if it makes them at all -- resemble small, chubby, lime-green caterpillars, not exactly something you want to dig your teeth into. To top it off, the corn plant stands only about three feet tall, at full maturity, and has few leaves. "A farmer would say this corn plant looks terrible," said ...

Rockefeller Scientists discover new compound that rids cells of Alzheimer protein debris

2011-03-08

If you can't stop the beta-amyloid protein plaques from forming in Alzheimer's disease patients, then maybe you can help the body rid itself of them instead. At least that's what scientists from New York were hoping for when they found a drug candidate to do just that. Their work appears in a research report online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org), and shows that a new compound, called "SMER28" stimulated autophagy in rat and mice cells. Autophagy is a process cells use to "clean out" the debris from their interior, including unwanted materials such as the protein ...

Scientists find key mechanism of childhood respiratory disease

2011-03-08

GALVESTON, Texas — Researchers have identified a critical part of the process by which one of the world's most common and dangerous early childhood infections, respiratory syncytial virus, causes disease. The discovery could lead to badly needed new therapies for RSV, which in 2005 was estimated to have caused at least 3.4 million hospitalizations and 199,000 deaths among children under five worldwide. By analyzing samples taken from infected infants and data from laboratory-mouse experiments, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston scientists determined that ...

Student innovation at Rensselaer transmits data and power wirelessly through submarine hulls

2011-03-08

Troy, N.Y. – Steel walls are no match for Tristan Lawry. The doctoral student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has developed and demonstrated an innovative new system that uses ultrasound to simultaneously transmit large quantities of data and power wirelessly through thick metal walls, like the hulls of ships and submarines. Lawry, a student in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer, is one of three finalists for the 2011 $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Rensselaer Student Prize. A public ceremony announcing this year's winner will be held ...

Rainwater harvest study finds roofing material affects water quality

2011-03-08

For the past few years, one of the most common questions facing the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) hasn't been over contentious water rights or proposed water projects; it's been from homeowners wanting to know what type of roofing material is most suitable for collecting rainwater for indoor domestic use. "Rainwater harvesting is becoming fairly widespread, at least in Central Texas. There's interest born out of necessity because people are simply running out of water in rural areas or they're interested in conserving water supplies and it's good for the environment," ...

Body's clock may lead to increased risk for fainting during the nighttime

2011-03-08

Boston, Ma – Fainting, or syncope, is quite common. About 50% of people will experience fainting at some point during their lifetime. The most common type of fainting is vasovagal syncope (VVS) that is caused by a sudden drop in blood pressure resulting in reduced blood flow to the brain. VVS can occur in healthy people due to inappropriate cardiovascular responses to certain behavioral or emotional triggers such as fear, needle prick or even standing up. VVS has a daily pattern with more occurrences during the morning. This daily pattern is possibly due to the daily distribution ...

Clinical observation leads to lung cancer discovery

2011-03-08

AURORA, Colo. (March 7, 2011) - A discovery at University of Colorado Cancer Center shows testing lung cancer on a molecular level can produce new insights into this deadly disease. Cancer Center member D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD, director of the thoracic oncology clinical program at University of Colorado Hospital (UCH), turned a chance clinical observation into a new field of discovery in lung cancer. In October 2010, Camidge and colleagues published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine showing more than half of patients with a specific kind of lung cancer ...