Muscle twitch switch.

• Autores: Diane Martindale
• Localización: Scientific American, ISSN 0036-8733, Vol. 291, Nº. 6, 2004, págs. 22-24
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • This article reports on a possible genetic solution to weight loss. In the battle against flab, who wouldn't love an "exercise" pill? Such a quick fix might be possible: biomedical researchers have found a way to rev up the metabolic machinery and thereby keep excess weight off--using genetics instead of the gym. The key appears to be a protein called PPAR-delta. A decade ago Ronald M. Evans of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., discovered that it regulates other genes involved in the breakdown of fat. They genetically engineered mice to produce extra PPAR-delta in their muscle. When put on a high-fat, high-calorie diet for 13 weeks, the transgenic mice gained only a third of the weight that their unmodified brethren did. INSET: LEANER BUT SHORTER LIVES?.