TUESDAY, Jan. 10, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- Mammals and insects share a common fat-building pathway, and this pathway in mammals may determine whether stem cells become fat or bone, says a U.S. study in the Jan. 11 issue of Cell Metbolism.
The finding suggests that drugs that target this hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway -- a set of genes involved in determining the destiny of many cell types -- may prove effective in treating obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis and lipodystrophy, a disease characterized by an absence of fat.
The new insight into the Hh pathway may also help explain common traits associated with aging, the study authors said.
"As we age, two striking things tend to happen almost across the board - our bones become thinner and we gain fat," senior author Jonathon Graff, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, said in a prepared statement.
"Our findings are consistent with the idea that hedgehog signaling may diminish as we get older. Drugs that stimulate the pathway could possibly help to reverse or prevent this trend, building stronger bones while reducing fat," Graff said.
In research with mice, Graff and his colleagues found that increased Hh activity led to reduced fat production while blocking Hh activity increased fat production. In addition, mice cells treated with Hh not only produced less fat, they also began to show signs normally associated with cells destined to become bone.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about weight control.
