20050619
Pajvani UB1, Trujillo ME, Combs TP, Iyengar P, Jelicks L, Roth KA, Kitsis RN, Scherer PE.
https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1262
Researchers genetically modified mice to have an engineered protein, FKBPv, on the surface of fat cells. These mice grow up just like normal mice. However, upon administering an agent, at any time during their life, these mice lose almost all of their fat cells.
The protein FKBPv is part of a Caspase. Caspases are used to invoke programmed cell death, a natural occurring phenomena.
Click to understand caspases.
Click to understand caspases.
Caspases are proteolytic enzymes (also called proteases or peptidases). Proteases are molecules that disassemble other molecules into smaller ones, a process called Catabolism.
Caspase 8 exists in a cell as inactive pairs, and need to be triggered to become active. Caspases can be activated by the removal of the prodomain, in this case FKBPv. FKBPv does not normally dimerize, or join together in pairs, but can be caused to dimerize in the presence of an FK1012 analog. Inactive Caspase pairs then merge in the process and begin to sever peptide bonds of the cell.
Thus, the surface of the fat cells, having the FKBPv protein, can be dismantled using the dimerizing agent FK1012-analog. When this happens, the mouse loses fat cells and becomes a very lean mouse. Mice with the inducible fat loss were given the name FAT-ATTAC mice (fat apoptosis through targeted activation of caspase 8).
(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
— Marcos Reyes 2019/07/15 02:56