The research group led by Assistant Professor Tetsuya Yamada, Assistant Sohei Tsukita, and Professor Hideki Katagiri, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, has found that nerve signals, emitted in response to the glucose metabolism in the liver due to overeating, reduced the caloric consumption of brown fat leading to obesity. This mechanism was also found to be involved in the differences in weight gain among different individuals.

The research results were published in the American scientific journal Cell Metabolism on December 4, 2012. The paper's title is "Hepatic glucokinase modulates obesity predisposition by regulating BAT thermogenesis via neural signals."

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[Contact]

Associate Professor Tetsuya Yamada

Center for Metabolic Diseases

Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine

TEL: +81-22-717-7611

E-mail: yamatetsu-tky*umin.ac.jp (Replace * with @)

Associate Professor Fuji Nagami

Public Relations Office of Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine

TEL: +81-22-717-7908

FAX: +81-22-717-8187

E-mail: f-nagami*med.tohoku.ac.jp (Replace * with @)