Scientists have found a possible new way to reduce fat without relying on traditional dieting.
A study in The American Journal of Pathology found that mice without the CD44 protein did not gain weight even on a high-fat diet while normal mice gained weight.
As per SciTech, CD44 protein plays a surprising role in obesity and metabolism.
Lead investigator Cheng Sun, PhD, Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education, Nantong University, China, said in an official statement, noting, “We previously reported that CD44 deficiency suppresses neuroinflammation.”
The statement added, “Given the critical role inflammation plays in the progression of obesity and its related complications, including hyperglycemia and insulin resistance, we hypothesized that CD44 might have a significant role in these processes. Therefore, we investigated the potential link between CD44 and metabolic disorders.”
The study indicates that CD44 helps regulate metabolism and may protect against obesity by reducing the formation of fat cells in the body's main fat storage tissue.
As per the study, blocking CD44 reduces obesity differently from GLP-1 receptor agonists, which mainly control appetite and blood sugar.
Instead, CD44 inhibition directly prevents fat cell formation.
