A new study has discovered the protein that controls the hunger signal and is the key to fighting excess weight and preventing cardiovascular disease
How does your brain know when you’re hungry or, conversely, you’re full and can’t eat anymore? Researchers at the Charité University Hospital – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have found the answer.
A small protein, a few nanometers in size, works in our body like a molecular switch and determines whether we feel hungry or full. By determining the protein’s 3D structure, scientists discovered the molecular structures of the hormones with which this protein, called melanocortin receptor 4 (MC4R), interacts.
Thanks to this, they were able to describe the molecular mechanisms involved in receptor activation and inhibition. It is a very important finding, as it would allow the development of drugs to treat overweight patients.
Obesity is one of the main global challenges, 1.6 billion adults and 650 million children suffer or are diagnosed with excess weight, which in turn is related to chronic cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
The solution for overweight patients
In the study, the team led by Dr. Patrick Scheerer, Head of X-Ray Protein Crystallography and Signal Transduction (Scheerer Laboratory) at the Charité Institute of Medical Physics and Biophysics, focused on finding out how the MC4R receptor works.
This receptor protein, found primarily in the brain, is controlled by hormones that can bind to it. spree to join her. Activation of MC4R by stimulating certain hormones.
If it’s the α-MSH (melanocyte-stimulating) hormone, it creates a feeling of fullness. On the contrary, the natural antagonist of this hormone, the agouti-related protein (AgRP), when it binds to the receptor, produces a feeling of hunger.
When there are genetic defects, there can be a deterioration in the functioning of this protein, often leading to mild or even severe obesity.
Researchers have already set new goals. They hope to understand how additional factors might be controlling the receptor at the molecular level. Some of the directly interacting factors have been identified, but their impact, however, the full functioning is yet to be discovered.
REFERENCE
Active melanocortin-4 receptor structures – Gs-protein complexes with NDP-α-MSH and setmelanotide