Feeding the heat on brown fat.
Dyan Sellayah1, Devanjan Sikder1
1Metabolic Signaling and Disease Program, Diabetes and Obesity Research Center, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, Orlando, Florida.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|October 12, 2013
Summary
Orexin, a brain hormone, uniquely promotes both feeding and calorie burning. This dual action confers resistance to weight gain, offering potential for new obesity treatments.
Area of Science:
- Human adaptation and biological traits
- Metabolism and weight regulation
Background:
- Individual susceptibility to weight gain varies significantly in obesogenic environments.
- Obesity pathogenesis may involve more than just feeding behavior, including subconscious adaptive mechanisms.
- Orexin, a neuropeptide, influences both feeding and energy expenditure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of orexin in fat-burning mechanisms.
- To explore orexin's dual function in promoting feeding and energy expenditure.
- To discuss the potential of augmenting orexin signaling for anti-obesity therapeutics.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on orexin signaling and its effects on metabolism.
- Analysis of correlations between orexin levels and lean body mass in rodents and humans.
- Examination of studies on orexin's role in thermogenic energy expenditure and weight gain.
Main Results:
- Orexin is activated during high-caloric food consumption, initiating a fat-burning mechanism.
- Orexin levels correlate with lean body mass in both rodents and humans.
- Loss of orexin function leads to obesity and prevents thermogenic energy expenditure, even with reduced feeding.
Conclusions:
- Orexin is a unique neuropeptide that confers resistance to weight gain by promoting both feeding and energy expenditure.
- Augmenting orexin signaling presents a potential therapeutic strategy for combating obesity.
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