'Brown fat' may be a key to curing obesity

John Carroll — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 08:00:59 -0400

By manipulating levels of the protein BMP-7, Harvard Medical School researchers were able to generate a larger store of "brown" fat cells that burn calories--a pathway that could be used to pursue new therapies to fight obesity and a range of metabolic diseases. Mice injected with the protein reportedly developed more of the brown fat tissue and gained less weight.

It turns out that there are two kinds of fat: Brown and white. Brown fat is more prevalent in infants and has a key role to play in metabolism. And it is generated by the same precursor cells that produce muscle. In a separate study, researchers identified a "master regulator" protein--PRDM16--that pushes the cells to develop along different paths.

"I think we now have very convincing evidence that PRDM16 can turn cells into brown fat cells, with the possibility of combating obesity," says Bruce Spiegelman of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

- read the story from AFP