One promising way to fight obesity and its complications is to keep fat tissue in the body from expanding
But as simple as that sounds, researchers aren’t yet sure where to start
While the antioxidant-regulating protein Nrf2 is known to play a role in the development of fat tissue
activating or de-activating Nrf2 appears to have the same fat-reducing effect
Now, researchers could have a better handle on Nrf2’s role
Through genetic and protein analyses, one team has discovered that Nrf2 works in concert with the receptor PDGFRα
PDGFRα is critical for the development of certain organs and tissues, including body fat
The team found that, in the absence of the adaptor protein Nck1, PDGFRα activation and Nrf2 expression are increased
Activating the PDGFRα-Nrf2 pathway in mice impaired bone marrow cells’ ability to turn into fat
These findings mirror those obtained by the same team for cells gathered from white fat tissue in mice
Though it’s not yet clear how the results will carry over to humans PDGFRα and Nrf2 might one day be targets for obesity-fighting drugs