Scientists Discover Brain Hormone that Triggers Fat Burning
What triggers fat-burning in the body? Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified a brain hormone which is responsible for this process. Their findings may have implications for future pharmaceutical development.
The hormone, FLP-7 (called Tachykinin), had been identified 80 years ago as a peptide that triggered muscle contractions when dribbled on pig intestines. Scientists back then believed this was a hormone that connected the brain to the gut, but no one had linked the neuropeptide to fat metabolism in the time since.
The research revealed that FLP-7 was indeed secreted from neurons in the brain in response to elevated serotonin levels. FLP-7 then travelled through the circulatory system to start the fat burning process in the gut. As the researchers noted, here’s how it works: a neural circuit in the brain produces serotonin in response to sensory cues, such as food availability. This signals another set of neurons to begin producing FLP-7. FLP-7 then activates a receptor in intestinal cells, and the intestines begin turning fat into energy.
They also investigated the consequences of manipulating FLP-7 levels. While increasing serotonin itself can have a broad impact on an animal’s food intake, movement and reproductive behaviour, the researchers found that increasing FLP-7 levels farther downstream didn’t come with any obvious side effects. They hope to explore how the fat-burning hormone can be increased without side effects.
The new findings were published in the journal Nature Communications.
Source of this article:
A tachykinin-like neuroendocrine signalling axis couples central serotonin action and nutrient sensing with peripheral lipid metabolism
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