Researchers at the FIU Biomolecular Sciences Institute who studied a protein they hoped would be a tumor suppressor instead found that it is responsible for protecting people from so much more.
It turns out that inositol polyphosphate-4-phosphatase type II B or INPP4B protects obese mice and humans from developing fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, and prostate neoplasia.
According to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 42.4 percent of adults in the United States are obese, and adults ages 40 to 59 were more likely to be obese. The problem is particularly dire for non-Hispanic black adults, followed by Hispanic adults and non-Hispanic white adults.
“We can control our diet, we can go out and exercise, but there are certain factors we cannot control, such as ethnicity, our age, and our genes,” said Manqi Zhang, a Duke University postdoctoral fellow who did this Study as director of studies, headed biochemistry Ph.D. Student at the FIU. “I think it’s important to look into this so we can find ways to treat these diseases in the future.”
In 2017, Zhang moved to the laboratory of Professor Irina Agoulnik at the FIU’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, where research focused on prostate cancer. Back then, there was hope that the poorly understood INPP4B would hold the key to stopping prostate cancer.
“Everything about this study surprised me,” said Zhang. “When the research started it quickly changed direction and we made great strides.”
Zhang noted that mutant mice that lacked INPP4B were fatter with regular diet. Agoulnik, a BSI researcher, then asked what would happen if the mice were fed a high-fat diet. Zhang found that on a high-fat diet, mutant mice gained significantly more weight than normal and developed fatty liver, type 2 diabetes, and prostate cancer.
More research is needed to see if treatment for INPP4B could be helpful for people. Agoulnik is also pursuing other research avenues related to INPP4B and breast cancer.
Zhang’s study was published in the journal Nature Communications Biology where it is currently in the first place of the online reader’s attention.
