Protein Contributes to Obesity

Weizmann Institute scientists have added another piece to the obesity puzzle, showing how and why a certain protein that is active in a small part of the brain contributes to weight gain. This research appeared in Cell Metabolism.

Prof. Ari Elson and his team in the Institute’s Molecular Genetics Department made the discovery when working with female mice that were genetically engineered to lack this protein, called protein tyrosine phosphatase epsilon (PTPe, for short). The scientists had originally intended to investigate osteoporosis, and thus, they also removed the ovaries of these mice. Taking out ovaries typically causes mice to gain weight to the point of obesity – so the scientists were surprised to find that the weight of the genetically-engineered mice remained stable. Working with Dr. Alon Chen and his group in the Neurobiology Department and Prof. Hilla Knobler, Head of the Unit of Metabolic Disease and Diabetes of Kaplan Medical Center, the researchers fed these mice a high-fat diet, yet the PTPe-deficient mice maintained their svelte figures; they burned more energy and had more stable glucose levels as well...