Mice with mutation feel the burn
Without immune gene, rodents in a new study make heat not fat
Mice with a mutation in an immune gene don’t get fat, they burn it.
A gene that helps regulate inflammation also stops fat cells from wasting energy. When the gene, called I kappa B kinase epsilon or IKKε, is missing, mice turn a high-fat diet into heat instead of body fat, a new study in the Sept. 4 Cell shows.
If the gene works the same way in humans as in mice, it could be a new target for antiobesity drugs.