Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Stanford University School of Medicine in the United States of America revealed a new compound produced by the body that regulates appetite and body weight by interacting with nerve cells in the brain. The results of this discovery were published in the journal Cell on November 12. The new compound is called “BHB”, which is related to phenylalanine (BHB-Phe).
New old compound
Beta hydroxybutyrate (PHB) was known to be a ketone body produced by the liver for use as fuel. In recent years, scientists have found that BHP increases in the body after fasting or exercising, which has prompted interest in searching for potential beneficial applications for it in treating obesity and diabetes.
The team at Stanford University, led by co-author Dr. Jonathan Long, associate professor of pathology, discovered that BHP is also involved in another metabolic pathway. In this case, carnosine dipeptidase 2-based enzymatic conjugation of BHP and free amino acids. The amino acid phenylalanine bound to BHP can affect body weight and metabolism in animal models.
How does the new compound affect eating?
The Baylor team, led by co-author Dr. Yong Xu, professor of pediatrics and nutrition and associate director of basic sciences at the USDA-USA Agricultural Research Service Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor, set out to investigate how BHP bound to phenylalanine affects Eating behavior and body weight in mice.
Shaw said – according to the Eurek Alert website – “We know that groups of neurons in the brain regulate eating behavior, so we mapped the entire brain to determine which areas were activated by (BHP) related to phenylalanine. We found that (BHP) “Bound to phenylalanine activates nerve groups in the hypothalamus and brainstem, and this inhibits eating and reduces body weight.”
In contrast, mice genetically engineered not to produce carnosine dipeptidase 2, and thus lacking the BHP associated with phenylalanine, ate more food and gained weight.
The same goal but in different ways
Interestingly, the enzyme carnosine dipeptidase 2, which produces BHP bound to phenylalanine, also produces another compound called lactol phenylalanine, which researchers discovered previously. Lactolphenylalanine, a blood compound produced during exercise, can reduce food intake and obesity in mice, researchers report in the journal Nature.
But do lactol phenylalanine and BHP, which is related to phenylalanine, achieve their combined effects by activating the same neurons in the brain?
“Our analyzes showed that only a small percentage of neurons were activated by the two compounds; most of the neurons activated by the two compounds were different,” said Dr. Through various mechanisms.
The findings suggest that a novel pathway involving phenylalanine-binding BHP, which is also found in humans, could be disrupted in obesity and possibly other conditions, supporting the need for further studies to better understand the mechanism.
“This work raises several new possibilities,” Long said. “For example, it may be possible for people in the future to consume the compound BHP related to phenylalanine to drive weight loss without restricting carbohydrates in their diet.”