Obesity is a complicated condition, caused by a combination of genetics, the food environment, behavior, and other factors. For millennia, getting enough food to survive and thrive was difficult. For most people, it's now as easy as opening a refrigerator.
A gene called SH2B1 has been shown to play an important role in regulating food intake. SH2B1 mutations in people are associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, formerly known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease . This gene controls feeding and energy expenditure.
Obesity is caused by two opposing axes: If you eat too much, you gain fat. Spend too little energy and fat accumulates." Liangyou Rui, Ph.
D., Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology and the Elizabeth Weiser Caswell Diabetes Institute at the U-M Medical School A study from Rui and team identifies where this gene is acting inside the brain, an area called the paraventricular hypothalamus, or PVH, which is involved in regulating blood pressure and fluid balance. Additionally, the team discovered that neurons that express SH2B1 create a circuit, talking to neurons downstream in an area known as the dorsal raphe nucleus, located in the brainstem.
This area is implicated in energy balance and body weight maintenance and emotion motivated behavior. Stimulating this circuit suppresses appetite in mice. Conversely, silencing the SH2B1 expressing neurons in the PVH leads to obesity.
The team also uncovere.
