Potential therapeutic target for controlling obesity discovered

This research, by Philippe M. Soriano, PhD, Professor, Developmental and Regenerative Biology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and Lorin E. Olson, PhD, previously a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory who is now an Assistant Member of the Immunobiology & Cancer Research Program at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, is a novel in vivo study to evaluate the signaling activity of the Platelet Derived Growth Factor Receptor-beta (PDGFRβ). The research team used mice that were genetically engineered to have elevated PDGFRβ signaling. They found that elevated PDGFRβ signaling inhibits differentiation of immature mesenchymal stem cells. These cells have the ability to give rise to multiple cell types in the organism, including fat cells and vascular smooth muscle.

"How mesenchymal cells are regulated within the body had been unclear until now. Our research is the first done in animals to show that PDGFRβ is a key regulator of cellular differentiation into fat cells or smooth muscle cells," said Dr. Soriano. "These data indicate that PDGFRβ plays a critical role in determining their cellular fate, providing a new therapeutic target in preventing the onset of diseases like obesity."

The researchers caution, based on their previous research published in Developmental Cell, that some types of chronic activation of PDGFR receptors may result in tumor formation. Therefore, signaling events further in the differentiation process may be better therapeutic targets. More research is needed to better understand how PDGFRβ regulates mesenchymal cell differentiation and the immune system's response to that activity to help identify treatments for cardiovascular and obesity-related diseases.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.