비만, MCJ, 단백질,

 

스페인 국립 암연구센터(CNIO)와 국립 심혈관연구센터(CNI) 공동 연구팀은 갈색 지방이 열로 전환되고, 지방을 태우면서 비만과 관련한 각종 질병을 예방할 수 있는 새로운 메커니즘을 밝혀냈다. 이 연구 결과는 기초과학 및 공학 분야 국제 학술지 ‘네이처 커뮤니케이션즈’에 실렸다.

비만은 과도한 음식 섭취와 이를 제대로 소비하지 못하면서 나타나는 증상 중 하나로 꼽힌다. 지방 조직은 에너지 저장 이외에 신체의 신진대사를 조절하는 역할을 하기도 한다. 이 때문에 연구팀은 지방의 신진대사 조절 기능에 주목했다.

앞서 많은 연구에서 밝혀진 바와 같이 백색 지방은 에너지를 저장하는 역할, 세포에 미토콘드리아가 많아 갈색을 띠는 갈색 지방은 체온을 유지하고 추위나 다른 외부 자극으로 촉발되는 열 생성을 담당한다. 바로 이 갈색 지방을 활성화하면 비만과 대사성 질환을 예방할 수 있다고 알려져 있다. 지금까지는 갈색 지방이 열을 발생시켜 더 많은 에너지를 소비하도록 유도해 비만을 예방하는 데 초점을 맞췄다.

연구팀은 고열량의 음식을 제공해 비만을 일으킨 생쥐를 대상으로 실험했다. 그 결과, 세포의 에너지 공장으로 불리는 미토콘드리아에 존재하는 ‘메틸화 조절 J 단백질’(MCJ)이 많을수록 체지방을 제거하기 어렵다는 사실을 밝혀냈다. 비만 생쥐에서 MCJ 단백질을 제거하면 더 많은 열을 생산하고 체중이 감소하며, 비만 쥐에게 MCJ를 이식하는 것만으로도 체중을 줄일 수 있다는 것을 확인했다.

연구를 이끈 과달루페 사비오 CNI 교수는 “갈색 지방에서 열을 생성하는 새로운 메커니즘을 발견하는 것이 최근 비만 연구에서 흥미로운 목표 중 하나”라며 “이번 연구로 MJC가 비만 관련 질병을 예방하는데 새로운 표적이 될 수 있을 것으로 기대한다”고 말했다.

 

 

A joint research team of Spain's National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) and the National Cardiovascular Research Center (CNI) has discovered a new mechanism that can prevent obesity-related diseases by converting brown fat to heat, burning fat. The research result was published in Nature Communications, an international journal on basic science and engineering.

Obesity is considered one of the symptoms of excessive food intake and failure to consume it properly. In addition to storing energy, adipose tissue also regulates the body's metabolism. For this reason, the research team paid attention to the metabolic control function of fat.

As previous studies have shown, white fat stores energy, and brown fat, which has a lot of mitochondria in its cells, maintains body temperature and produces heat triggered by cold or other external stimuli. It is known that activating this very brown fat can prevent obesity and metabolic diseases. Up to now, the focus has been on preventing obesity by inducing brown fat to generate heat and consume more energy.

The research team conducted an experiment on mice that caused obesity by providing high-calorie food. They found that the more methylated J protein (MCJ) present in mitochondria, called the energy plant of cells, the more difficult it is to remove body fat. It was confirmed that removing MCJ protein from obese mice can produce more heat and lose weight, and simply transplanting MCJ into obese mice can reduce weight.

"Discovering a new mechanism for heat generation in brown fat is one of the interesting goals in recent obesity research," said CNI Professor Guadalupe Savio, who led the study. "We expect MJC to be a new target in preventing obesity-related diseases."