Credit: Shutterstock
Researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School may have discovered critical mutations in molecules that deal with obesity.
The researchers were able to find these mutations in a peptide and a receptor, which have connections to obesity, diabetes, and hypertension in rodents. In a previous study, researchers found that mice had a neuropeptide that activated a receptor. This sparked the breakdown of fat in the body to ignite energy. When compared to humans, researchers noticed that the peptide was not overly active in inducing biological activity.
What was similar was that the pathway was conserved in obesity in both humans and in rats. They decided to test the rodent peptide with the human receptor. A biological effect was observed, but it was not as strong as the connection with the rat’s peptide and receptor.
This information proved that the combination of amino acids in the peptide and receptor is unique among different species. Researchers believe that this cluster of mutations was selected during evolution to favor smaller mammals to produce energy.
As a result of this knowledge, the rodent peptide could become a target for pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs for the human receptor. They believe it could be more potent and selective in the human peptide in activating the receptor to produce an anti-obesity effect.
