Researchers look at newly discovered brain cell to develop anti-obesity treatments vs overeating

Besides having some chocolate cake for breakfast to lose weight, researchers are planning to develop anti-obesity treatments after the discovery of a brain cell that stops overeating. In mice, the cells could be switched on and off, says the study by researchers at John Hopkins University School of Medicine.

News.com.au reports that scientists found the cell in the paraventricular nucleus, a small region in the brain that sends and receives signals linked to food intake and appetite. They identified the OGT, an enzyme, as having an important role in stimulating the synaptic connections between the cells.

When the researchers switched off the OGT, the mice ate more and doubled their weight in three weeks. When it was switched on, there was a 25 percent reduction in the amount of food the animal ate.

“These mice don’t understand that they’ve had enough food, so they keep eating,” says Olaf Lagerlof, first author of the study, published in Science journal, and researcher at John Hopkins. Professor Richard Huganir, director of the school’s Department of Neurosciences, notes “When the type of brain cells were discovered fires and sends off signals, our laboratory mice stop eating soon after. The signals seem to tell the mice they’ve had enough.”

The enzyme adds a chemical derivative of glucose to proteins. It is involved in different aspects of body metabolism, including use of the insulin, a hormone, and glucose in the bloodstream. How the two are used determines sugar level during eating or after drinking sugary drinks, explains The Independent.

The amount of glucose sugar, which goes up after eating or drinking, circulating in the bloodstream controls the appetite switch. Huganir says that it is likely the same cell type and mechanism is found in human brain.

“If we really understand what’s occurring here we might be able to deliberately target this mechanism with drugs that could control appetite, which could help in the fight against obesity epidemic,” says the professor.