Protein responsible for obesity identified, may differ for Latinos

This binational team, in which researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM), the National Institute of Genomic Medicine (IMEGEN) and Landsteiner Scientific Laboratory with the Spanish subsidiary Neopharm Obesity involved, have identified the protein "responsible" for obesity, and developed a molecule that inhibits it.

Francisco Kuri Brena, director of new developments from the laboratory, explained: "Obesity is one of the major problems that we will 'attack' with the use of genomic medicine. There are already companies developing medicines for the Caucasian population, we focusing the study to Latinos. "

At the UNAM, the team led by Patricia Ostrosky, director of the Institute for Biomedical Research, has a model for cells in which they will validate if the molecule inhibits the protease. This university has five candidates to study the inhibition of fat cells in humans, while in the UAM research is conducted in animal models.

The animal models will be subjected to a high-fat diet to gain weight and then will be supplied with the molecule that inhibits the protein that generates fat. It is expected for the model to not be overweight despite eating a lot of fat.

Medicine for Latinos

Kuri Brena said there genomic variation and metabolism in Mexico is "slightly" different from the Caucasian community. We will-he said- use of them said to enhance effective treatments, avoid adverse reactions and optimize the drug dose.

According to research, Mexicans and Latinos have variations in their genome that makes some medicines not work optimally because they were designed for American or European populations.

"We made use of genomic medicine, which is the application of knowledge of the human genome and has allowed us to predict drug efficacy in Mexican and Latino populations. Obesity is one of the main problems we want to attack, because after the USA we are the next country with the majority of cases."

Protease research is in preclinical stage, and while in Mexico the computer design of potential drugs is carried out, in Spain synthesis and study of candidates to participate in the clinical stage is performed.

This research allowed the laboratory to also focus on hypertension, Alzheimer's, cancer and Parkinson's, among other diseases.