Yale Scientists Uncovers Protein Closely Linked to Cancer as Key Regulator of Body Weight

When a person has a metabolic disorder, it impairs the body's ability to grow, reproduce, and repair damage, according to Medical News Today. The disorder may also lead to a higher risk of chronic diseases and uncontrollable weight gain. But scientists from Yale University recently shared that they found a protein that can help develop new treatments for metabolic disorders.

The protein known as augmentor-alpha (AUG-α) is closely linked with a wide range of cancers but also plays an important role in regulating body weight in mice. Researchers said that the discovery adds to the understanding of how bodies respond to food, or the lack thereof.

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Yale Scientists Uncovers Protein Closely Linked to Cancer is Also A Key Regulator of Body Weight

Locating Augmentor-Alpha Protein in the Body

The team is curious about AUG-α because of its connection to cancer, so they decided to take a closer look at it. According to a news release from Yale, the protein binds and activates the anaplastic lymphoma kinase receptor (ALK), which drives a variety of human cancers when it mutates.

The team pinpointed its location to gain a better understanding of its role in the body. Using mice models, they found that the protein is strongly expressed in the hypothalamus, particularly within the agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons that are known to promote hunger.

Researchers said that these cells play an important role in signaling hunger so that the person knows when to eat. Finding the protein in these cells implies that AUG-α is involved in metabolism.

The team went on to find a further link between the protein and metabolism as they observed how its level increased during fasting. Study senior author Joseph Schlessinger said that this means fasting is a signal for the AgRP neurons to make more of this protein.

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What Happens When AUG-α is Inhibited?

The team then studied the mice that lacked the protein and compared them to the typical ones. They found that those without the protein were thinner whether they ate a high-fat diet and were more physically active than their counterparts.

Researchers said that typical mice would reduce physical activity when hungry to conserve energy. On the other hand, those mice without the AUG-α were still very active, which shows that the protein is also an important signal for energy conservation. Researchers conclude that the role of protein is to slow down metabolism when there is a lack of food.

In a similar report from New Atlas, researchers said that the link between metabolism and the protein could be helpful in enhancing or inhibiting the protein's effect on a number of diseases. For instance, drugs that target ALK could be repurposed for metabolic disorders where excess weight can exacerbate the condition.

Researchers believe that enhancing the protein might offer treatment for people experiencing harmful weight loss due to anorexia, cachexia, or persistent loss of appetite as a side effect of medication or injury.