Health ETH researchers discover slimming cells with a Sisyphean mechanism

A newly discovered type of beige fat cell causes biochemical processes to run back and forth seemingly without purpose: ETH Zurich describes this as "useless metabolic cycles" - but these could at best prevent diabetes and obesity.

According to a press release issued by ETH on Wednesday, the newly discovered fat cells use a process that it describes as a "Sisyphus mechanism". The cells convert fats into fatty acids at full speed - and just as quickly build up new fats from them. And they turn the creatine molecule into the related creatine phosphate, only to immediately convert it back into creatine.

Breakdown of excess fat

These useless metabolic cycles have no overall effect on the biochemical balance, writes the ETH. "But they consume energy and generate heat."

This means that the new class of beige fat cells plays an important role in energy metabolism in the human body, according to Anand Sharma, a postdoc in ETH Professor Christian Wolfrum's group and co-author of the study. The cells break down excess fat, notes doctoral student and first author Tongtong Wang.

As the researchers were able to show, people with many beige fat cells are slimmer and tend to have better metabolic health: they are less susceptible to obesity and metabolic disorders such as diabetes.

According to the study, it would be conceivable in future to transplant beige fat cells into people who only have a few of them and suffer from metabolic diseases or weight problems.

White, brown and beige fat cells

There are white, brown and beige fat cells. White ones store fat in the body as an energy reserve. Brown ones are particularly active in babies, they produce heat and maintain body temperature. Beige fat cells, which are interspersed in white adipose tissue in adults, consume energy. Until now, they were known to generate heat via the protein UCP1.

An international research team from ETH Zurich and other participating institutions has now discovered and described the new class of beige fat cells.