A Massachusetts Institute of Technology study, led by Dr Manolis Kellis, says we’re one step closer to development a pill that can mimic the effect of exercise on the body.
Scientists have identified a stem cell in the body that turns into a fat storage machine when people are on high calorie diets. And the goal is to attack that stem cell to prevent fat fixation.
As a result, the researchers found that exercise could reverse this effect.
They hope the discovery will be used to invent drugs that target these stem cells and achieve the same goal, according to a note from the Daily mail.
The lead author of the study published in the journal Cell metabolismManolis Kellis said it is extremely important to understand the molecular mechanisms that drive the beneficial effects of exercise and the harmful effects of a high-fat diet.
“We can understand how we can intervene and develop drugs that mimic the impact of exercise on multiple tissues,” Kellis said.
How long before it’s on sale
The research is still going on, but the team of scientists say it could take years for the pill to hit the shelves, so for now there is nothing better than exercise and a healthy diet.
According to statistics, about four in 10 men and women in the United States are obese, which costs the health care system about $ 173 billion a year.
Meanwhile, in the UK, one in four adults are obese, which costs the NHS $ 7.45 billion a year.
The experience in mice
In the latest mouse study, the researchers fed two groups of rodents a high-fat or normal diet for three weeks, he says. Daily mail.
They were then divided into an inactive, exercising group, which had constant access to a treadmill, for another three weeks.
The researchers looked at three types of tissue in mice: skeletal muscle, visceral white adipose tissue, fat deposits around internal organs, and subcutaneous, fat-burning white adipose tissue.
They found that in all three types of tissue, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which can transform into other cell types, appeared to control the effects of diet and exercise.
A high-fat diet increased their ability to turn into fat storage cells, while exercise had the opposite effect.
The researchers are now examining samples of small intestine, liver and brain tissue from the mice in the study to see how physical activity and high-fat diets affect these parts.
Human volunteers are also providing blood samples so that researchers can study the difference between humans and mice more closely.
The team also found that exercise and high-fat diets had an effect on the rodents’ circadian rhythms.
The researchers hope their findings will model drug development to mimic some of the benefits of exercise.
Dr Kellis said, “The message for everyone should be to eat a healthy diet and exercise if possible.”
“For whom this is not possible, due to poor access to healthy foods, or due to disabilities or other factors that prevent them from exercising, or simply due to lack of time to follow a healthy diet or a healthy lifestyle, what is this study that we now have a better management of the pathways, specific genes and specific molecular and cellular processes that we should manipulate therapeutically. “
But Frank Booth, an inactivity expert at the University of Missouri, felt it shouldn’t be considered a substitute for exercise at this point, as the study didn’t test the known benefits of exercise, including lowering blood pressure and heart rate decrease at rest.
Source: Clarin
