MSGID: 1:317/3 642e4ae6   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Study shows how to prevent a high-fat diet from throwing metabolism out   
   of whack    
    Biologists discover removing a protein inhibitor restores metabolic   
   balance    
      
     Date:   
         April 5, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of California - Irvine   
     Summary:   
         Eating lots of fats increases the risk of metabolic disorders,   
         but the mechanisms behind the problem have not been well   
         understood. Now, biologists have made a key finding about how to   
         ward off harmful effects caused by a high-fat diet.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Eating lots of fats increases the risk of metabolic disorders, but   
   the mechanisms behind the problem have not been well understood. Now,   
   University of California, Irvine biologists have made a key finding   
   about how to ward off harmful effects caused by a high-fat diet. Their   
   study appears in Nature Communications.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   The UC Irvine research centered on a protein complex called AMPK, which   
   senses the body's nutrition and takes action to keep it balanced. For   
   example, if AMPK detects that glucose is low, it can boost lipid breakdown   
   to produce energy in its place. Scientists have known that consuming   
   high amounts of fat blocks AMPK's activity, leading the metabolism to   
   go out of balance. However, until now, how cells block this mechanism   
   has not been widely examined, especially in live models.   
      
   The UCI biologists decided to investigate, believing an AMPK component   
   called SAPS3 serves a significant role. They eliminated SAPS3 from   
   the genome of a group of mice and fed them meals with a 45 percent fat   
   content. The results were startling even to the research team.   
      
   "Removing the SAPS3-inhibiting component freed the AMPK in these mice   
   to activate, allowing them to maintain a normal energy balance despite   
   eating a large amount of fat," said Mei Kong, professor of molecular   
   biology & biochemistry and the study's corresponding author. "We were   
   surprised by how well they maintained normal weight, avoiding obesity   
   and development of diabetes."  The discovery could eventually lead to   
   a new way to approach metabolism-related conditions. "If we block this   
   inhibition activity, we could help people reactivate their AMPK," said   
   first author Ying Yang, a project scientist in the Kong lab. "It could   
   help in overcoming disorders such as obesity, diabetes, fatty liver   
   disease and others. It's important to recognize how important normal   
   metabolic function is for every aspect of the body."  The researchers   
   are working on developing molecules that could inhibit SAPS3 and restore   
   the metabolism's balance. They plan to next study SAPS3's role in other   
   conditions with disturbed metabolic systems, such as cancer and aging.   
      
   The discovery comes as metabolic-related diseases such as obesity and   
   diabetes continue to rise. More than half of the global population is   
   expected to be overweight or obese by 2035, compared to 38 percent in   
   2020, according to the World Obesity Federation. The number of people   
   worldwide with diabetes is expected to rise to 578 million by 2030,   
   up 25 percent from 2019, reports the National Center for Biotechnology   
   Information.   
      
   Support for the project was provided by the National Institutes of Health   
   and the American Cancer Society.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Obesity # Diet_and_Weight_Loss # Fitness # Nutrition   
                   # Diabetes # Cholesterol # Diseases_and_Conditions #   
                   Chronic_Illness   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Atkins_Diet o Trans_fat o South_Beach_diet o Diabetic_diet   
             o Healthy_diet o Eating_disorder o Zone_diet o Unsaturated_fat   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   University_of_California_-_Irvine. Note: Content may be edited for style   
   and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Ying Yang, Michael A. Reid, Eric A. Hanse, Haiqing Li, Yuanding   
      Li, Bryan   
         I. Ruiz, Qi Fan, Mei Kong. SAPS3 subunit of protein phosphatase   
         6 is an AMPK inhibitor and controls metabolic homeostasis upon   
         dietary challenge in male mice. Nature Communications, 2023; 14   
         (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467- 023-36809-1   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/04/230405161412.htm   
      
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