Scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center may have found a cellular key to combating obesity. Noticing that elite athletes store fat without excess weight gain, researchers investigated fat metabolism in a study published in Nature Communications.
In people with obesity or overweight, excess fat often builds up in non-fat tissues like skeletal muscles, the heart, or liver, leading to dysfunctions, explains Dr. Perry Bickel, co-author of the study. This ectopic fat accumulation overwhelms metabolism, heightening risks for conditions like type 2 diabetes through insulin resistance. Examining fat cells from elite athletes—who store comparable fat levels—researchers identified elevated Perilipin 5 protein on fat droplet surfaces.
Testing Perilipin 5 in obese mice, the team observed that during exercise, the protein shifts from fat droplet surfaces into cell cores. There, it partners with PGC-1α to generate more efficient mitochondria—the cell's energy powerhouses. Higher Perilipin 5 levels enhanced fat burning, suggesting broader implications for obesity and type 2 diabetes therapies, per the researchers.
