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The heart regulates the energy metabolism of the entire body
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025

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The heart can coordinate the body's electrical energy metabolism, a discovery that could help develop more effective treatments for obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease, according to a study led by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Using mice fed a high-fat diet, the researchers found that targeting a specific cardiac genetic pathway could prevent obesity and protect the animals from the risky changes in blood glucose levels that are characteristic of type 2 diabetes.
" Obesity, diabetes, and coronary heart disease are major causes of death and disability, and all of these diseases are metabolically related. This study is the first demonstration that the heart can regulate systemic metabolism, which we think opens up a new area of research," said senior author Eric Olson, PhD, director of molecular sciences at UT Southwestern, on the paper published in the journal Cell.
The study was conducted on genetically modified mice that were given a test drug that affected the levels of two regulatory molecules in the heart muscle. The researchers found that MED13, a key component of one of the genetic pathways in heart cells – cardiomyocytes – regulates metabolism throughout the animal’s body, while a heart-specific microRNA – miR-208a – suppresses MED13 activity.
Mice with elevated levels of MED13, either genetically or pharmacologically, showed no signs of obesity and showed increased energy expenditure. In contrast, mice genetically altered to lack MED13 in their heart cells were highly susceptible to high-fat diet-induced obesity. They also had impaired blood glucose metabolism and other changes characteristic of metabolic syndrome, which is associated with coronary heart disease, heart attack, and type 2 diabetes.
MicroRNAs are small fragments of genetic material that initially seemed to scientists to be an uninteresting target for research because, unlike long RNA chains, they do not code for proteins. Genes encoding microRNAs were long considered to be so-called “junk” DNA. However, in recent years, these molecules have been recognized as the main regulators of many diseases and stress responses that develop in various tissues. About 500 microRNAs have already been identified.
“A few years ago, our biolab focused on this heart-specific microRNA, miR-208a, and then worked with a biotech to create a product to inhibit it. When we tested its effects, we found that our little brothers who were given this inhibitor were more resistant to high-fat diets and did not show symptoms of any other diseases,” explains Dr. Olson. (Dr. Olson is one of five co-founders of miRagen Therapeutics Inc., a Colorado-based biotech in which UT Southwestern Medical Center has an equity stake.)
How this heart-specific microRNA interacts with different cells in the body is still unknown and will be the subject of future research.