Obesity treatment only for women?

Based on their new findings, researchers led by Mete Civelek, Ph.

The researchers say their findings in mice suggest that a similar approach could help treat the effects of obesity and combat metabolic diseases in women, such as diabetes

"We urgently need targeted therapies for obesity and diabetes-induced metabolic abnormalities," said the study's first author, Qianyi Yang, PhD, of the Center for Public Health Genomics at the University of Virginia

How we store fat

Men and women naturally store fat differently

Silverek and his team are studying a specific gene, KLF14, that has been linked to many different metabolic problems, including type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease

Silverek and his collaborators discovered that the KLF14 gene is a key regulator of how the female body uses lipids (fat)

There were other gender changes: Female mice had slower metabolisms and faster breathing, suggesting they were relying more on carbohydrates for energy

Interestingly, when the researchers increased the production of the KLF14 protein in female mice, the mice lost weight

Based on their findings, the researchers believe that increasing the production of the KLF14 protein in women's fat cells may offer a way to treat the deleterious effects of obesity and type 2 diabetes

"We are now working on creating a drug delivery system that will target fat cells and deliver a small molecule that increases the abundance of KLF14, " Civelek said

Journal Reference :

1. Qianyi Yang, Jameson Hinkle, Jordan N.