Medical Breakthrough Shows TSLP Cytokine Protein May Help Lose Weight By “Sweating” Fat

A team of researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that obese mice, treated with the cytokine (a class of protein) known as TSLP, reported significant fat and weight loss . Described as an “unexpected discovery,” the researchers also said the fat loss was in no way related to a decrease in food intake or a faster metabolism. The treatment found that “TSLP caused the immune system to release lipids through the sebum-producing sebaceous glands in the skin. ”

The study is being led by Taku Kambayashi, associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He was joined by Ruth Choa, a fourth year MD student. Kambayashi said that despite being an unexpected discovery, the team demonstrated that fat loss is possible by secreting calories from the skin in the form of energy-rich sebum. The professor added that the results of animal experiments also show that it could become a model for the treatment of obesity in humans.

Kambayashi said they never thought TSLP would impact obesity itself. Their goal was to find out if this had an impact on insulin resistance. “We thought the cytokine could correct type 2 diabetes, without actually causing mice to lose weight,” he said.

In order to see the effect of TSLP on type 2 diabetes, the researchers gave obese mice a viral vector to increase their body’s levels of TSLP. Four weeks after the mice were given the injections, the team found that TSLP, in addition to affecting their risk of diabetes, also reduced obesity in them. Compared to TSLP-treated mice, the control group continued to gain weight. TSLP-treated mice lost 20 grams, from 45 to just 25 grams in 28 days, the team said.

Not only that, while the mice reported weight and fat loss, Kambayashi speculated that TSLP may be making them nauseating. After further testing, the group found that mice receiving TSLP treatment also ate 20 to 30 percent more. In addition, they also had similar energy expenditure, basal metabolic rates, and activity levels as their untreated counterparts.

Could this work on humans?

The study’s authors said that in humans, going “high speed” in the release of sebum could lead to “fat sweating” and weight loss.

Kambayashi’s group then plans to test this hypothesis. He said he doesn’t think humans naturally control their weight by regulating sebum production. “Maybe we can hijack the process and increase the production of sebum to cause fat loss,” he said.