February 20, 2017.
According to a study led by Roger Pocock, assistant professor at Monash University in Australia, a gene responsible for the feeling of fullness has been discovered in a worm. Explanations.
A gene responsible for the feeling of satiety
If we find what is at the origin of the feeling of satiety, then we will have the means to fight effectively against obesity. However, Australian researchers have discovered a gene responsible for this feeling of satiety in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans. And this worm was not chosen at random, but because it shares up to 80% of genes with humans and about half of its known genes are involved in human disease.
According to this work, published in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Sciences (PNAS), this discovery appeared to be crucial in the search for a solution against obesity. This gene, called “ETS-5”, controls signals from the brain to the intestines and let us know if we are hungry or want to sleep or exercise after eating.
Soon a new treatment for obesity?
According to Prof. Roger Pocock, this discovery “ allows to consider the manufacture of a molecule that could help control overweight by reducing appetite and triggering the desire to do more sport “. ” When the intestines have stored enough fat, the brain receives this information and tells the worm it’s time to rest. », Adds the researcher.
He is already considering the creation of a treatment capable of making an individual want to play sports, even after having eaten well, in order to be able to eliminate excess calories more quickly. It remains to be seen, too, whether humans have the same gene and whether a treatment capable of acting on the control of the intestine by the brain would be possible. Research continues.
Marine Rondot
Read also: All you need to know about obesity
