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yesterday

High-Fat Diet Disrupts Metabolic Enzymes, Antioxidants Reverse Dysfunction

The findings reveal how high-fat intake triggers redox imbalance through enzyme phosphorylation shifts in mice, highlighting the promise of antioxidant interventions.

A study by MIT researchers shows that a high-fat diets sets off metabolic dysfunction in cells that leads to weight gain, but that these effects can be reversed by treatment with an antioxidant.
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Overview

  • MIT scientists mapped hundreds of phosphorylation changes in metabolic enzymes under a high-fat diet, uncovering widespread dysregulation of sugar, lipid and protein pathways in mice.
  • Excess dietary fat induced redox imbalance and reactive oxygen species accumulation, leading to insulin resistance and accelerated weight gain, particularly in male mice.
  • Female mice activated alternative lipid-processing pathways to maintain redox balance and limit metabolic dysfunction, pointing to key sex-specific responses.
  • Co-administration of the antioxidant BHA restored enzyme phosphorylation patterns, prevented prediabetes and significantly reduced weight gain in high-fat diet mice.
  • Researchers plan to explore optimal timing, dosage and molecular targets for antioxidant therapy as a potential treatment for obesity-associated metabolic diseases.