New drug promotes weight loss in mice

Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio), operates under the chemical abbreviation CPACC.

This system restricts the entry of magnesium into the mitochondria, which are responsible for producing energy and burning calories within cells.

Researchers discovered the new drug while investigating the effects of deleting a specific gene that encodes the magnesium carrier protein named Mrs2.

This protein serves as a channel to transport magnesium across the mitochondrial membrane.

The deletion of MRS2 allowed mice to consume junk food for up to a year (a long time in a mouse's life) starting from 14 weeks old, yet they exhibited improved sugar and fat metabolism in their mitochondria, leading to being leaner and healthier.

Of course, the findings from mice may not directly apply to humans, and the authors of the study acknowledge some limitations.

Their method involves subjecting mice to prolonged dietary stress to mimic metabolic syndrome in humans. Inducing short-term dietary stress on the system could help elucidate the primary effects of MRS2 deletion.

Additionally, the researchers note that utilizing a complete deletion approach for MRS2 makes it impossible to discern how each tissue affects metabolic regulation.

Given the widespread expression of MRS2, they emphasize the importance of further investigating its effects on various organs like the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and skeletal muscles.

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