Study: Blocking brain enzyme helps mice eat less, stay slim

BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Blocking a single brain enzyme help short-circuit a key hunger signal in mice and made them eat less, lose weight and have better blood sugar control, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday in the journal Cell Metabolism.

"We believe we have identified an important drug development target that could potentially turn into a metabolictriple play: appetite control, weight loss and blood sugar management," said Tony Means of Duke University Medical Centerin Durham, North Carolina.

Means' team focused on the enzyme CaMKK2, which plays a role in appetite stimulation in mice and in humans. Found in a region of the brain known as the hypothalamus, it takes its orders from a hormone released in the gut known as ghrelin, which is released when the stomach is empty.

His team found that mice genetically engineered to lack the enzyme CaMKK2 stayed slim regardless of whether they were on a low-fat or high-fat diet.

It also found that mice ate less and lost weight when the researchers gave them a direct brain infusion of a drug known to block the CaMKK2 enzyme.

(Agencies)