Brain Receptor Regulates Fat Burning in Cells

Suppressing levels of a specific brain receptor can help to protect against diet-induced obesity as well as health concerns such as type-2 diabetes and fatty liver disease.‌ Lower levels of p75 neurotrophin receptor (NTR) - a receptor involved in neuron growth and survival - has been shown to "put the brakes" on the body's metabolism of fat. Researchers from the Gladstone Institutes in California and the University of Glasgow have also discovered that p75 is upregulated by a high fat diet making it more likely that the fat from obese individuals is less likely to get broken down for energy purposes. The study, which is published today in Cell Reports , found that decreasing levels of p75 neurotrophin receptor prevented obesity and metabolic diseases in mice fed a high-fat diet. Lowering levels of p75 neurotrophin receptor (NTR)—a receptor involved in neuron growth and survival—protected mice fed a high-fat diet from developing obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver disease. In the current study, the researchers investigated the relationship between p75 NTR and a diet high in fat— often the cause of these problems. The scientists discovered that the receptor helped regulate metabolic processes that control body weight, and reducing the number of p75 NTR in fat cells prevented weight gain in mice. Professor George Baillie, from the University of Glasgow's Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, said: "This research is important because it identifies a new function for a receptor called p75.