A new study on animals has helped researchers identify a specific gene named protein kinase C beta or PKC beta that came up in the fat cells due to intake of high fat diet. The study reveled that the mice having this gene gained weight rapidly when given high fat diet while the mice genetically engineered to have lower quantities of the gene did not gain too much weight despite being on similar high fat diet.
The researchers also noticed that the mice that were fed high fat diet had more PKC beta in their fat tissues when compared to the quantities of the gene in the tissues of mice on regular diet.
Senior author of the study, Kamal Mehta is a professor of molecular and cellular biochemistry at Ohio State University’s College of Medicine. “So we now know this gene is induced by a high-fat diet in fat cells, and a deficiency of this gene leads to resistance to fat-induced obesity and related insulin resistance and liver damage,” said Mehta and added “It could be that the high-fat diet is a signal to the body to store more fat. And when that gene is not there, then the fat storage cannot occur.”
Surprisingly the research suggested that the mice lacking in PKC Beta gene are found to be burning fat more rapidly rather than storing the same. This behavior or mechanism of PKC lacking mice needs more explanations and researches according to Mehta. Online journal Hepatology carries the complete report which is due for print publication at a later date.
The finding may prove to be of extreme importance for humans for its capability to tackle diet induced obesity and related problems like diabetes and liver destruction.
“Obesity leads to liver damage and to diabetes. So if we can take care of obesity associated with a high-fat diet, we can also take care of most of the related disorders,” Mehta said. “It is very likely that this gene may be involved in a predisposition to obesity.”