Slender mice

A team of researchers has identified a factor involved in the control of obesity in mice. Researchers at the University of Lausanne have turned their attention to a regulatory protein that modulates the expression of certain genes, depending in particular on stress and the level of nutrients available to cells. The function of this protein, known as MAF1, is to limit the activity of an enzyme called "RNA polymerase III" in situations such as cellular stress. RNA polymerase III synthesizes small ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules with various functions, in particular transfer RNAs, which are essential for protein synthesis. Lean mice. A total absence of this factor in mice makes the rodents resistant to conditions that normally lead to obesity. "Whereas mice on a high-fat diet become obese within six weeks, mice whose MAF1 gene has been deleted remain lean, remain sensitive to insulin and therefore do not develop diabetes, and live a little longer," testifies Nouria Hernandez.