London, March 25 : Scientists exploring human metabolism have uncovered a handful of chemical compounds that regulate fat storage in worms.

The discovery by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), offers a new tool for understanding obesity and finding future treatments for diseases associated with obesity.

The team took armies of microscopic worms called C. elegans and exposed them to thousands of different chemical compounds. Giving these compounds to the worms, they discovered, basically made them skinnier or fatter without affecting how they eat, grow, or reproduce.

The team''s interest in how worms deal with fat began with a more fundamental interest in human metabolism. Worms make molecules of fat for the same reasons humans do - they are useful for storing energy and are a basic building block for body tissues. Many of the genes and mechanisms worms use to regulate fat accumulation have similar systems in humans, and not all of them are completely understood.

Starting with 3,200 different chemical compounds and 3,200 pools of tiny worms, the team used a red dye that sticks to fat molecules to pinpoint under the microscope which of the chemicals made the worms fatter
(more red) or skinnier (less red). They identified a few dozen, and performing additional tests, narrowed in on about 10 compounds they believe regulate fat metabolism.

Those compounds not only altered fat storage in the worms but in insect and human cells grown in test tubes, leading postdoctoral fellow George Lemieux to comment that they "may be useful for understanding metabolism in other organisms."

One of these compounds modulates a molecular complex called an AMP-activated kinase, which senses the availability of cellular energy. Versions of kinase complexes exist both in worms and humans, and some already are key targets for drug design by pharmaceutical companies.

The study has been published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology. (ANI)