April 25, 2024

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Why don’t some people gain weight even eating much?

Why don’t some people gain weight even eating much?



 

Why don’t some people gain weight even eating much?

 

Mitochondria (mitochondrion) is the “energy factory” of the cell. There is a set of genetic material independent of the nucleus in the mitochondria – mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) .

Due to the important role of mitochondria in energy homeostasis, mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to the occurrence of a variety of diseases, including developmental disorders, neuromuscular diseases, metabolic diseases, cancer progression and so on.

 

In October 2022, researchers from Massachusetts General Medical School and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia published a research paper entitled: Congenital Hypermetabolism and Uncoupled Oxidative Phosphorylation in the New England Journal of Medicine ( NEJM ) . They discovered a previously unreported mitochondrial genetic disorder, Mitochondrial Uncoupling Syndrome, in a group of identical twins .

 

Mitochondrial disease usually interferes with mitochondrial function, yet these twins had hyperactive mitochondria and were underweight despite eating far more calories than their bodies needed.

 

Why don't some people gain weight even eating much?

 

The corresponding author of the paper, Professor Vamsi K. Mootha of Massachusetts General Hospital , said that there are more than 300 mitochondrial genetic diseases discovered so far, almost all of which are related to the blockage of mitochondrial function, but this time it is a very different kind of disease. Common types of mitochondrial disease.

 

The researchers sequenced the patients’ genomes and revealed that they had mutations in the ATP5F1B gene, which encodes the beta subunit of mitochondrial ATP synthase , which causes abnormalities in mitochondrial ATP synthase, which cells need to generate ATP (adenosine triphosphate) , which is hydrolyzed during hydrolysis. When it releases more energy, it is the most direct source of energy in the body.

 


Mitochondrial Uncoupling is a natural metabolic process that accounts for approximately 20%-40% of energy expenditure. Experiments have shown that mutations in mitochondrial ATP synthase in these patients promote mitochondrial uncoupling, which accelerates energy expenditure.

Therefore, the research team named this mitochondrial disease – Mitochondrial Uncoupling Syndrome (Mitochondrial Uncoupling Syndrome) , and patients showed high metabolic levels and high mitochondrial uncoupling.

 

The research team stated that these patients are the first patients with mitochondrial uncoupling syndrome to be discovered and confirmed, and the study of mitochondrial uncoupling syndrome may provide new insights into differences in energy metabolism in the general population.

 

These cases are important for research in the fields of rare disease genetics, mitochondrial biology and metabolism.

Much research is now focused on activating mitochondrial uncoupling to treat obesity and metabolic diseases.

The findings in this paper may shed light on the treatment of obesity and metabolic diseases.

 

 

 

 

Paper link :

https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2202949

Why don’t some people gain weight even eating much?

(source:internet, reference only)


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