Researchers Identify Membrane-Bound Transcription Factor That Mimics Starvation.

researchers in Japan have identified a membrane-bound transcription factor that mimics starvation and appears to be critical for controlling whole-body energy homeostasis and improving obesity and diabetes.” In mouse studies, researchers found that cAMP-responsive element-binding protein 3-like 3 (CREB3L3) “activates a wide spectrum of metabolic responses to starvation.” When fed normal chow, increases in body weight were significantly suppressed in the CREB3L3 transgenic mice, but not in wild type mice fed the same diet. "Compared with wild type mice, the suppression of increase in body weight in transgenic mice was mainly accompanied by the remarkable suppression of fat mass increase and not by the suppression of lean mass increase," the researchers wrote. CREB3L3 overexpression also improved diet-induced hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia and reduced plasma triglyceride levels. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Obesity/49183