Appetite Control Cells Has Been Identified, Will This Cure Obesity?

First Posted: Oct 20, 2016 04:40 AM EDT
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Obesity is one of the problems that the United States is facing. Experts have been trying to minimize the number of obese people. Scientists conducted experiments on how to fight this condition and found that, within the brain cells, there is a certain c cell that is called glial which is responsible for  appetite control.

Researchers conducted an experiment with the help of the mice. They were able to determine that the glial cells when activated, can cause overeating, but when the cells are being suppressed it shows that there is a drop in appetite. The experts suggested that the result of their study can help develop medicines  that can fight appetite related disorders, especially obesity.

In the research, the scientists studied the glial cells that can be found in the hypothalamus that is a part of the brain. Not only hypothalamus is responsible for sleeping cycles and energy expenditures, experts also it as an appetite control.

Lead author Naiyan Chen said, "I was very curious at that point what glial cells would be doing in the hypothalamus since glial cells have been shown in other brain areas to have an influence on regulation of neuronal function."

In line, experts then further examine the hypothalamus activities. They were able to identify two key groups of neurons, the AgRP and POMC. Scientists then discovered that the AgRP is responsible for stimulating the feeding while the POMC was found to conceal feeding, according to UPI Health News.

The study's senior author Guoping Feng shared that, "In the last few years, abnormal glial cell activities have been strongly implicated in neurodegenerative disorders. There is more and more evidence to point to the importance of glial cells in modulating neuronal function and in mediating brain disorders," as reported by Science Daily.

The study authors shared that previous researchers were not able to study the appetite controlling cells due to lack of techniques for stimulating and silencing the cells. Now, they were able to complete their study using a strategy that engineers the astrocytes which are the specific glial cells, to produce a surface receptor that activates the cells. 

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