USU researchers try ‘tricking’ the body into losing weight
Dieting may become a thing of the past thanks to Utah State University researchers who are in the beginning stages of developing a scientific approach to fooling the body into eating less.
This new research can potentially trick the body into thinking it’s not hungry by suppressing the appetite. This is done by using microscopic structures called nanoparticles, said Tim Gilbertson, USU associate biology professor.
“It’s a diet, but maybe you could call it a hidden diet,” Gilbertson said. “It’s a simple approach.”
Nanoparticles are made up of the same lipid molecules that are found in the cells of the body. These nanoparticles are fabricated in a laboratory and once inside the body, can be directed toward certain fat cells in the body, in this case, the intestines.
“The advantage of this is that you can deliver [nanoparticles] to the cells and they are taken up inside of the cells,” Gilbertson said.
Once inside the cell, a person will be satisfied with eating smaller amounts of food during a meal because the nanoparticles have replaced what would have essentially been more fat in the cells.
“We’re trying to fool receptors into thinking they have fat when they don’t,” Gilbertson said.
Bhavik Shah, a graduate student from Baroda, India, has been working for about a year and a half on finding a way to deliver these nanoparticles to the desired cells that are involved in the control of appetite.
“This is a big hypothesis and I’m working on a small part,” Shah said. “I’m working on growing these cells in the lab and targeting them [to the nanoparticles].”
Because these cell receptors are all over the body, including the cardiovascular areas, it could cause further problems. As a solution, Shah is trying to make it so the nanoparticles can differentiate between different cells and target only those found in the intestines.
Since the nanoparticles and cell receptors are so small, USU neurobiologists are using an atomic force microscrope to measure them. Typically, one nanometer equals one millionth of a millimeter, so one nanoparticles is about 100 nanometers.
“I think this is the first collaborated project between neurobiologists and biological engineers on campus,” said Anhong Zhou, assistant professor from the biological and irrigation engineering department.
Although the research is in its infancy, the university has already provided several grants in support of it. Within the next two or three years, Gilbertson hopes they can start testing these nanoparticles on animals. But it will be several years before it can actually be used on humans.
“I cannot say right now whether it will work,” Shah said. “I don’t know, but I hope.”
Nanoparticles are also being used to fight certain cancers such as breast cancer. That is where USU researchers got the idea to use them to prevent obesity, Gilbertson said.
“[Obesity] is a problem in the U.S., but it is a problem throughout the world,” Shah said. “The main problem is dietary induced obesity – people eat too much fat and that is the main problem.”
Roughly one out of three people in the U.S. are obese. However, Gilbertson emphasized that this is not a cure for obesity, rather it prevents obesity.
–mmackay@cc.usu.edu