Missing Gene in Mouse May Lead To Obesity Cure

By Roland Piquepaille

Australian scientists may have found a new cure for obesity, at least for people with a disposition to develop type two diabetes. They engineered a so-called 'hot mouse' with a missing gene, according to this article from the Australian Associated Press (AAP). This gene, which is also present in humans, is associated with a protein which slows the conversion from fat to energy. Without this protein, these mice can eat all they want and still have half the body fat of regular mice. The scientists think they can now design a drug for obese people which will mimics the absence of this specific gene. Such a drug could be tested within five years. In the mean time, control what you eat and exercise. Read more...

The so-called "hot mouse" was engineered to burn energy at a much higher rate than normal, the Garvan Institute's Professor David James said.

"They're missing one gene and the absence of that one gene allows these mice to eat essentially the equivalent of an extra meal every day of their lives but despite that, they only have half the amount of body fat that a normal mouse does," Prof James told AAP.

Here is how this works.

The missing c-Cbl gene contained the blueprint for a protein that slowed down the conversion of fat to energy, Prof James explained.

"Normally it slows the process down so when the gene (and therefore the protein) is missing it speeds that process up," he said.

Here is a picture of one of these mice that can eat what they want without getting fat (Credit: ABC TV). This picture is extracted from a short video (1 minute 29 seconds) viewable from this page at ABC News Online.

As you can see, these mice look exactly as normal ones. In fact, except for a slight increase in body temperature, there are no side effects. The mice with the missing gene live as long as regular ones, and they can reproduce normally.

So what's next? A drug for humans?

A drug that blocked the protein from working in humans would probably have the same effects, Prof James said. Such medication -- still about five years away -- would be most suited to obese people with a genetic disposition to developing type two diabetes.

"If you can stop those people from putting on weight or make them lose weight you'll either delay the onset of diabetes or make their diabetes get a lot better." Increased energy levels would be a healthy side-effect of the medication, he added, hopefully motivating such people to exercise more.

I think he's right. Even with such a drug, exercising is important. And this is what I'm going to do right now.

Sources: Kylie Walker, Australian Associated Press (AAP), November 2, 2004; ABC News Online, Australia, November 2, 2004