China News Service, Guangzhou, November 25 (Reporter Guo Jun) The Institute of Biomedical Translational Research of Jinan University Medical Department held a press conference in Guangzhou on the 25th to announce that the team of Professor Yin Zhinan of the hospital has worked hard for 7 years in the field of obesity and metabolic diseases. Major breakthroughs have been made in the research: Researchers have discovered for the first time that interleukin IL-27 can directly target and promote the browning of fat cells and the production of heat, which can reduce obesity and improve type 2 diabetes by burning lipids.
Screenshot of the research paper published by Professor Yin Zhinan's team in Nature. Photo courtesy of Jinan University
Related research papers were published online on November 24 in the top international academic journal Nature.
The title of the thesis is "IL-27 signaling promotes adipocyte thermogenesis and energy expenditure".
This research breaks through the traditional cognition that IL-27 only focuses on regulating the immune system.
Professor Yin Zhinan is the last corresponding author of the paper. Professor Richard A Flavell of Yale University, Yang Hengwen, associate researcher of the Institute of Biomedical Translation of Jinan University, and Professor Lu Ligong of Zhuhai People's Hospital affiliated to Jinan University are the co-corresponding authors of the paper.
Wang Qian, postdoctoral fellow of Zhuhai People's Hospital, Jinan University, Li Dehai, postdoctoral fellow, Cao Guangchao, associate researcher of the Institute of Biomedical Transformation, Jinan University Health Science Center, and Shi Qiping, associate professor of the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, are the co-first authors.
Professor Yin Zhinan is making innovations and releasing the photos courtesy of Jinan University
According to reports, adipocytes are divided into white fat, brown fat and beige fat according to their morphology, metabolism, location and development.
Among them, the function of white fat is to store excess energy in the body for the body to use when needed, and it is also the "true killer" of obesity.
Brown adipose tissue contains a large number of mitochondria, which have the functions of burning fat and producing heat. Beige fat is mainly distributed in some grandmother cells and white cells in white adipose tissue. It also has the function of burning fat and producing heat. Therefore, brown and Beige adipose tissue plays an important role in combating metabolic disorders such as obesity and insulin resistance.
Professor Yin Zhinan’s team built a high-fat diet-induced obesity model in mice, and combined with samples of obese people, it was found that the level of interleukin IL-27 in the serum of obese people decreased, and for the first time it was discovered that IL-27 can directly act on non-immune cells-fat Cells, causing white adipocytes to brown, and activate the key protein of heat production-the "fat burning" mediated by the uncoupling protein UCP1; by converting the lipids in adipose tissue into calories to be consumed, weight reduction and improvement are achieved The purpose of metabolic diseases such as diabetes.
Photo courtesy of Professor Yin Zhinan's team Jinan University
According to reports, this is also the first time researchers have discovered that IL-27 in the IL-12 cytokine family can directly act on adipocytes and cause adipocyte differentiation and heat production, providing a new target for the treatment of obesity and metabolic diseases.
In animal experiments, injection of recombinant IL-27 can significantly reduce the body weight of obese mice and improve insulin signal sensitivity, which preliminarily verifies the potential of IL-27 as a therapeutic drug.
In recent years, obesity-induced metabolic syndromes such as type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver, and atherosclerosis have become a major challenge to public health.
It is urgent to find new therapeutic targets, especially molecules that directly target fat cells and effectively lose weight.
The research of the research team of Jinan University has huge clinical application potential and market value.
This research is strongly supported by the key research and development program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the key project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the discipline innovation and intelligence introduction base of the Ministry of Education, and the discipline construction funding of the Zhuhai People's Hospital high-level hospital.
According to Professor Yin Zhinan, this work lasted 7 years and was completed with the joint efforts of team members and the support and help of many experts and scholars at home and abroad.
Professor Yin Zhinan’s team is very much looking forward to the industrialization of this therapeutic target as soon as possible, hoping that the results can benefit the majority of obese people.
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