AT-022 is used to Dissect Physiological Roles of PTER in Obesity and Feeding Behavior

(Quanzhi Li Ph. D. Invent Biotechnologies Inc.)

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A recent study (Wei, W., et al., (2024), PTER is a N-acetyltaurine hydrolase that regulates feeding and obesity. Nature, 633(8028), 182-188) identifies PTER (Protein of Taurine Esterase-Related function) as an enzyme that hydrolyzes N-acetyltaurine (NAT). NAT is a metabolite implicated in appetite and energy balance. The goal of this research was to uncover PTER’s biochemical activity and physiological role in obesity and feeding behavior.

Key Findings:

• PTER is a N-acetyltaurine hydrolase, breaking down NAT into taurine and acetate.
• Mice lacking Pter showed elevated NAT levels, reduced food intake, and were protected from diet-induced obesity.
• Administering NAT reduced feeding behavior, suggesting a regulatory role of NAT in satiety signaling.
• PTER expression is enriched in adipose tissue and liver, suggesting these are central organs for NAT metabolism.

The AT-022 played a critical technical role in this research by:

• Provides high-quality adipose tissue proteins for downstream analysis.
• Allowing quantitative and comparative proteomics to detect PTER expression across tissues.
• Facilitating Western blot and enzymatic assays from adipose lysates, which confirmed PTER’s enrichment and activity profile in adipose tissue.
• Supporting consistent and reproducible protein extraction from both lean and obese mouse models, which was essential for demonstrating diet-dependent regulation of PTER.

Total cell lysates extracted from adipose tissues were used in immunoblotting (Extended data Fig.9)

The study uncovers PTER as a key enzyme in NAT metabolism, linking it to appetite control and obesity. Through both loss-of-function and metabolite-supplementation approaches, the research shows that NAT accumulation suppresses feeding, providing a potential therapeutic avenue for metabolic disease. The AT-022 kit was vital for the accurate characterization of adipose-expressed PTER and enabled high-confidence conclusions regarding its role in obesity.