Protein found to protect females against obesity

Using a mouse model of high-fat diet-induced obesity, a team of scientists at the University of California, Riverside, has found that, compared to males, female mice are protected against obesity and inflammation because they secrete more of an immune protein called RELMalpha. The study is published in eLife.

When the researchers deleted RELMalpha in female mice, they found the mice were no longer protected from obesity, had fewer eosinophils, and had inflammatory macrophages — similar to male mice. The research team found RELMalpha deficiency had significant effects in males also but to a lesser extent than in females.

According to Nair, the study is novel in showing a previously unrecognized role for RELMalpha in modulating metabolic and inflammatory responses during diet-induced obesity that is sex-dependent.

“Our results highlight a critical ‘RELMalpha–eosinophil–macrophage axis’ that functions in females to protect from diet-induced obesity and inflammation,” she said. “Promoting these pathways could, therefore, provide novel therapies for combating obesity.”

Reference: Protein found to protect females against obesity; eLife, DOI: 10.7554/eLife.86001