Cell Metabolism News and Research

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Gut bacteria may increase risk of metabolic syndrome

An excess of bacteria in the gut can change the way the liver processes fat and could lead to the development of metabolic syndrome, according to health researchers.

30 Oct 2015

Researchers identify molecular switch that can convert unhealthy white fat into energy-burning brown fat

A research team led by UC San Francisco scientists has identified a molecular switch capable of converting unhealthy white fat into healthy, energy-burning brown fat in mice. Drugs that flip this switch rapidly reduced obesity and diabetes risk factors in mice fed a high fat diet.

30 Oct 2015

Biological sensor protein could help combat diabetes, obesity

In the study, researchers showed a protein called NLRP1 is switched on when increased dietary energy (food) intake triggers the cell to become 'unstable'.

23 Oct 2015

Scientists find new way to inhibit growth of lung cancer cells

Scientists have identified a new way to stop the growth of lung cancer cells, by blocking their ability to use alternative sources of nutrition. The discovery was made possible by identifying the metabolic programs used by cancer cells to fuel their growth.

21 Oct 2015

Study identifies four distinct types of bowel cancer

Bowel cancer can be divided up into four distinct diseases, each with its own set of biological characteristics, a major new study reports.

12 Oct 2015

Researchers find protein that plays crucial role in development of allergic airway inflammation

Allergies are becoming more commonplace, particularly in industrialised coun-tries. In addition to hay fever, allergic asthma is currently considered to be one of the most widespread allergies. UFZ researchers and their colleagues from the University of Leipzig have recently been successful in finding a protein that plays a critical role in the development of allergic airway inflammation.

12 Oct 2015

Leading cancer researchers address eight 'big questions'

Leading cancer researchers address eight of the "big questions" facing the field as part of the inaugural issue of Trends in Cancer, published by Cell Press.

30 Sep 2015

Cancer-causing gene disrupts internal rhythm, metabolic pathways in cancer cells

Myc is a cancer-causing gene responsible for disrupting the normal 24-hour internal rhythm and metabolic pathways in cancer cells, found a team led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Postdoctoral fellow Brian Altman, PhD, and doctoral student Annie Hsieh, MD, both from the lab of senior author Chi Van Dang, MD, PhD, director Abramson Cancer Center, study body clock proteins associated with cancer cells.

18 Sep 2015

New research enables ‘tailored’ diet advice based on personal gut microbiome

New research enables "tailored" diet advice - based on our personal gut microbiome - for persons who want to lose weight and reduce the risk of disease.

10 Sep 2015

Inhibiting key protein involved in glucose production may help in treating type 2 diabetes

Some treatments for type 2 diabetes make the body more sensitive to insulin, the hormone that lowers blood sugar. But new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests a different strategy: slowing the production of glucose in the liver.

4 Sep 2015

Gut bacteria play major role in diabetes, obesity depending on host’s genetic makeup

The trillions of bacteria in your digestive system play a major role in your metabolism, and they're linked to your risks of type 2 diabetes, obesity and the related conditions that make up "metabolic syndrome," which has become a global health epidemic.

4 Sep 2015

Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier could potentially be a new drug target to treat diabetes

High blood sugar is a defining characteristic of Type 2 diabetes and the cause of many of the condition's complications, including kidney failure, heart disease, and blindness. Most diabetes medications aim to maintain normal blood sugar (glucose) levels and prevent high blood sugar by controlling insulin.

3 Sep 2015

Fish oil diet modifies gut bacteria to boost health

Diets rich in fish oil versus diets rich in lard produce very different bacteria in the guts of mice, reports a study from Sahlgrenska Academy published in Cell Metabolism. The researchers transferred these microbes into other mice to see how they affected health. The results suggest that gut bacteria share some of the responsibility for the beneficial effects of fish oil and the harmful effects of lard.

29 Aug 2015

Researchers examine relationship between energy needs and 'pleasure' of eating in food intake

A team at the Laboratoire biologie fonctionnelle et adaptative (CNRS/Université Paris Diderot) investigated the relative role of energy needs and "pleasure" of eating in food intake. The researchers studied a group of neurons in mice. They observed that when the neuron activity is compromised, feeding behavior becomes less related to the body's metabolic needs and more dependent on food palatability.

24 Aug 2015

Low-fat diets better than low-carb diets for weight loss, NIH study finds

In a recent study, restricting dietary fat led to body fat loss at a rate 68 percent higher than cutting the same number of carbohydrate calories when adults with obesity ate strictly controlled diets. Carb restriction lowered production of the fat-regulating hormone insulin and increased fat burning as expected, whereas fat restriction had no observed changes in insulin production or fat burning.

14 Aug 2015

Findings by Joslin scientists may lead to early detection, treatment of complications in type 1 diabetes

Joslin scientists have advanced understanding of how the cellular repair process is impaired in type 1 diabetes, which can cause cell death and lead to complications. The findings appear in the August issue of Cell Metabolism.

5 Aug 2015

New genomic fingerprint may predict prostate cancer risk in African American men

African American men are more likely to develop prostate cancer than European American men, and are also more than twice as likely to die from it. Although there are many reasons that contribute to this health disparity, new research shows that African American men may have a distinctly different type of prostate cancer than European American men, according to new genomic fingerprinting results.

21 Jul 2015

UT Southwestern researchers find potential therapy to treat diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Reducing high concentrations of a fatty molecule that is commonly found in people with diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease rapidly improves insulin sensitivity, UT Southwestern Medical Center diabetes researchers have found.

17 Jul 2015

Middle classes from developing countries more vulnerable to develop diabetes due ancestral diets

The middle classes from developing countries are more susceptible than western Caucasians to obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in today's changing environment. New research published today in Cell Metabolism from the University of Sydney in Australia, the National Centre for Cell Science and the DYP Medical College in Pune, India reveals this may be a result of the nutrition endured by their ancestors.

12 Jul 2015

Researchers discover mechanism that regulates metabolism

The protein complex mTORC1 is a central regulator of cell metabolism. In the active state, it stimulates anabolic processes and increases the production and storage of proteins and lipids. Researchers from the German Leibniz Institute for Age Research in Jena and the Dutch Ageing Institute ERIBA in Groningen discovered a mechanism how mTORC1 regulates metabolism: It controls the expression of a specific variant of the transcriptional regulator C/EBPβ.

29 Jun 2015