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Hormones in brain may explain how exercise improves metabolism
A collaboration between the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and researchers in South Korea has shown how moderate exercise prompts cells in the hypothalamus, the small region within the brain that controls metabolism, to release a hormone called MOTS-c. MOTS-c is a small protein that is encoded in cells’ smaller mitochondrial genome, rather than the larger collection of genes in the nucleus, said Changhan David Lee, assistant professor of gerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School and co-senior author of the new study.
Mitochondria, while more commonly known as the energy-producing parts of cells, have in recent years been found to play much bigger roles in health and aging by providing instructions for cellular processes. Subsequent studies by Lee and his colleagues have shown how mitochondrial-encoded MOTS-c interacts with the nuclear genome and regulates cellular metabolism and stress responses.
Credit: Stephanie Kleinman/USC
A mitochondrial hormone expressed by cells deep in the brain appears to play a role in improving metabolism and fighting off obesity, according to a new study in mice.
A collaboration between the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and researchers in South Korea has shown how moderate exercise prompts cells in the hypothalamus, the small region within the brain that controls metabolism, to release a hormone called MOTS-c. MOTS-c is a small protein that is encoded in cells smaller mitochondrial genome, rather than the larger collection of genes in the nucleus, said Changhan David Lee, assistant professor of gerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School and co-senior author of the new study.
Mitochondrial Mutation Ups Diabetes Risk in Japanese Men by Angela Mohan on January 22, 2021 at 6:39 PM
New genetic variant puts male carriers at greater risk for type-2-diabetes(T2D). Patients with this variant had 65% more chance of developing T2D compared to sedentary men without it, as per the new study done on Japanese population.
Researchers from the University of Southern California, along with colleagues in Japan, led by Professor Noriyuki Fuku of Juntendo University, found higher rates of harmful belly fat and T2D among Japanese men with a specific mitochondrial gene variant.
This variant, in the site of the mitochondrial peptide MOTS-c, is found only in East Asian populations and was shown, in human and mice data, to prevent the normal production of MOTS-c, and to diminish the beneficial action the exercise-mimicking peptide usually performs in preventing weight gain and normalizing metabolism.
A new study of Type 2 diabetes in Japanese populations has uncovered a previously uncharacterized genetic variant that puts male carriers at greater risk for the disease, as well as the mechanism by which it does so.