Recent research identifies the latrophilin 1 receptor as a potential regulator of eating behavior, suggesting new approaches to treating obesity by targeting this receptor. The rising prevalence of overweight and obesity is a significant global medical challenge. Alongside lifestyle changes, genetic factors play a crucial role in the development of obesity.
Researchers at Leipzig University and Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf have identified a new regulator of eating behavior. The findings have been published in the internationally renowned Nature journal Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy . “Our research underscores our incomplete understanding of the factors governing food intake.
It also reveals the potential involvement of previously overlooked receptors,” says Dr Doreen Thor, lead author of the study and scientist at the Faculty of Medicine at Leipzig University. The newly identified receptor, latrophilin 1, has primarily been studied for its functions in the brain such as synapse formation and development, but not for its role in controlling food intake. It is a G protein-coupled receptor and was so named because of its ability to bind to the neurotoxin latrotoxin.
This toxin is produced by some spiders, including the Mediterranean black widow, and has the latrophilin 1 receptor as a key neuronal target structure. Microscopic view of a hypothalamus brain section. The third ventricle (black) is visible.
The red dots show the receptor. The nuclei are blue.