New study reveals metabolic pathway linked to weight gain in mice.
Soybean oil is the most commonly used cooking oil in the United States and a frequent ingredient in processed foods, and research suggests it plays a role in promoting obesity in mice. Scientists are beginning to uncover the biological reasons behind this effect.
In a UC Riverside study, most mice fed a high-fat diet containing large amounts of soybean oil experienced notable weight gain. A separate group of genetically engineered mice did not. These modified mice produced a slightly different version of a liver protein that regulates hundreds of genes involved in fat metabolism. This altered protein also seems to affect how the body handles linoleic acid, the primary fatty acid found in soybean oil.
“This may be the first step toward understanding why some people gain weight more easily than others on a diet high in soybean oil,” said Sonia Deol, a UCR biomedical scientist and corresponding author of the study published in the Journal of Lipid Research.
Humans also produce two forms of the liver protein HNF4α, although the less common version usually appears only in specific situations, including chronic disease or metabolic stress caused by fasting or alcoholic fatty liver. This difference, combined with factors such as age, sex, medication use, and genetic background, may clarify why some individuals respond more strongly than others to the metabolic influence of soybean oil.
