University of Florida researchers have identified a protein called TRIP-Br2, and are keen on developing drugs that target and mimic its absence further allowing prevention of obesity without relying solely on lifestyle modifications.
The discovery could aid development of drugs that not only prevent obesity, but also spur weight loss in people who are already overweight, one of the study's co-authors and principal investigator Stephen Hsu said.
"The problem is when these studies end and the people go off the protocols, they almost always return to old habits and end up eating the same processed foods they did before and gain back the weight they lost during the study," he said.
Identified for the first time by Hsu, TRIP-Br2 helps regulate how fat is stored in and released from cells. To understand its role, the researchers compared mice that lacked the gene responsible for production of the protein, with normal mice that had the gene.
They quickly discovered that mice missing the TRIP-Br2 gene did not gain weight no matter what they ate
