HMN 2025: How Activating brown fat may yield a new strategy to tackle obesity

Is it possible to treat obesity without reducing food intake? A new study co-led by Dr. Antonio Zorzano and Dr. Manuela Sánchez-Feutrie at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) suggests that this might be a possibility, at least in animal models.

Published in Nature Communications, the research identifies a key role for neuritin 1, a protein previously linked to the nervous system, which is also produced in brown adipose tissue, where it acts as a powerful driver of energy expenditure and metabolic health.

Unlike current anti-obesity and antidiabetic drugs, such as Ozempic or tirzepatide, which work by suppressing appetite, neuritin 1 boosts energy burning without affecting food intake. “By increasing the levels of neuritin 1 specifically in brown fat, we observed that the animals burned more energy, which helped prevent fat accumulation,” explains Dr. Zorzano, who is also a professor at the University of Barcelona and a researcher at CIBERDEM.

This metabolic boost led to significant improvements in several health indicators, including reduced weight gain, improved insulin sensitivity, and lower liver inflammation, even in animals fed high-calorie diets.

Neuritin 1: A new player in energy metabolism

Previously described for its role in neuronal plasticity, neuritin 1 is now shown to have a metabolic function in brown fat, a type of fat specialized in generating heat through a process known as thermogenesis. This process involves burning energy to maintain body temperature, particularly in response to cold. In this context, neuritin 1 stimulates mitochondrial activity and promotes the expression of thermogenic genes.

To trigger its expression, the researchers used a viral vector that drives neuritin 1 overexpression exclusively in thermogenic fat cells. The result was a sustained increase in metabolic activity, without affecting food consumption or physical activity in the animals.

“These findings point to neuritin 1 as a promising therapeutic candidate for treating obesity and its associated conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease, through a mechanism that differs from current approaches,” highlights Dr. Sánchez-Feutrie.

Relevance to human health

Beyond the animal model results, genetic data in humans also show a correlation between neuritin 1 and susceptibility to obesity, reinforcing the potential relevance of the discovery. The team is currently exploring ways to translate these findings into a future therapeutic strategy.

This research is still in its early stages. While the findings are promising, additional studies will be needed before potential therapeutic applications in humans can be considered.

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