Researchers have discovered a metabolite in the blood known as “Lac-Phe,” which can cut the amount of food that obese mice consume by almost 50 percent.
Lac-Phe, when administered through injection, causes weight loss without changing the amount of energy expended, water consumed, or activity levels.
According to the findings of the researchers, additional research into Lac-Phe is required in order to comprehend its potential to cure metabolic illnesses such as obesity.
The likelihood of developing metabolic illness, obesity, and death from any cause is raised by engaging in physical exercise.
The treatment of obesity and cardiometabolic disorders, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, can be improved by engaging in physical activity.
based on some study
The generation of molecular maps of biological substances that are influenced by physical activity has gotten under way at Trusted Source.
Additional study into these molecules may assist researchers in the development of therapies for illnesses such as obesity that are designed to simulate the benefits of physical activity.
Exercise has been shown to boost the creation of a blood metabolite known as N-lactoyl-phenylalanine (Lac-Phe), which inhibits eating and obesity in mice. This discovery was made relatively recently by researchers.
Mice that were given Lac-Phe for ten days saw a large decrease in their cumulative food intake, a reduction in body fat, and an improvement in their glucose tolerance. This resulted in the mice having a considerable weight loss.
The research was written up and presented in the journal NatureReliable Source.
Lac-Phe
For the purpose of the study, the researchers conducted a metabolomic analysis of the blood plasma taken from mice that had been made to run on a treadmill until they were completely exhausted.
They found that exercise raised levels of a number of metabolites in the blood, such as lactate, fumarate, and succinate.
However, of all of the metabolites, Lac-Phe was the one that was substantially stimulated the most. The identical chemical was also found in post-race metabolomic examinations of race horses.
Following additional testing, the researchers discovered that the plasma levels of Lac-Phe in mice and racing horses peaked at around 2 M after exercise and then reverted to their baseline levels after an hour.
The researchers had a hypothesis that Lac-Phe may act as a biochemical signal that controls energy balance. In order to combat this, they gave the fat mice Lac-Phe.
As a result of this, they found that the mice’s consumption of food reduced by around fifty percent over the course of twelve hours in comparison to the control mice. Their mobility, on the other hand, was not impacted in any way.
The researchers also found that Lac-Phe did not affect a variety of other metrics in mice that were given the drug, including the following:
oxygen consumption carbon dioxide production respiratory exchange ratios water intake appetite-regulating hormones such as leptin and ghrelin oxygen consumption carbon dioxide production respiratory exchange ratios water intake oxygen consumption
They also discovered that providing Lac-Phe to obese mice for ten days resulted in a reduction in food intake as well as body weight in comparison to animals used as controls. It also improved glucose homeostasis and decreased adiposity, which is the amount of fatty tissue present, without affecting the weight of any of the other organs in the body.
They did find, however, that while taking Lac-Phe by injection showed favourable benefits, taking it orally did not create any influence on food intake or body weight. This was likely due to the breakdown of the compound that occurs in the digestive system.
After that, the researchers examined the levels of Lac-Phe in a human cohort consisting of 36 participants after they had exercised. In people, Lac-Phe levels increased after activity, just as they do in mice, and then they reverted to their baseline levels after one hour.
After further testing, it was shown that the greatest levels of Lac-Phe were detected after sprinting, and those levels remained higher than the baseline for three hours. This was followed by endurance exercise and then weight training.
Mechanisms under the surface
The researchers claimed that a proper understanding of Lac-workings Phe’s is difficult to get because so little study has been done on the compound. However, the tests that were carried out as part of this research revealed that its effects on obesity and adiposity are exclusively the result of its influence on the amount of energy that is consumed.
In response to further questions regarding these processes, Jon Long, Ph.D., associate professor of Pathology at Stanford University and one of the authors of the study, stated in an interview with Medical News Today, “We think Lac-Phe functions in the brain to control eating.” But at this point, we don’t really have much of an idea. At this time, we are endeavouring to get an understanding of the brain circuits that are activated by Lac-Phe as well as the nature of the brain receptor for Lac-Phe.
Dr. Paresh Dandona, Ph.D., distinguished professor and head of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York (SUNY), who was not involved in the study, provided the following response to the same topic when asked by MNT:
Lac-Phe is produced in mice and other animals, including horses and humans, when they engage in physical activity. It is highly likely that the hypothalamus systems involved in the regulation of appetite and fullness as well as the reward zones of the brain are responsible for its influence on weight. GLP-1 receptor agonists cause weight reduction by acting through various processes, and this weight loss is restricted to adipose tissue while having no effect on lean body mass.
“However, research has to be conducted in people using either Lac-Phe infusions or its stable analogues in the near future. I have no doubt that those working in the pharmaceutical business will seize this chance. Dr. Dandona stated, “This is the beginning of a fresh tale and mechanism for weight loss, and I hope that it will work out.”
The researchers came to the conclusion that therapy with Lac-Phe reduced adiposity and obesity in obese mice, as well as improved their tolerance to glucose.
Dr. Lawrence J. Cheskin, professor and chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at George Mason University, who was not engaged in the study, provided the following response to MNT when they questioned him about the limits of the findings:
“This is based mostly on research conducted with a particular type of fat mice. There is no information available on potential adverse effects or long-term effectiveness in people.
Dr. Cheskin said that more study is required despite the fact that these findings may provide a possible technique for controlling the amount of food consumed.
Nevertheless, Dr. Long hopes that drugs targeting the Lac-Phe pathway will one day be able to “capture” the anti-obesity effects of exercise and thus serve as an alternative treatment for obesity.