Removing a cellular receptor for ghrelin protein may allow mice to burn more fat and reduce weight, and this could point a new way to obesity control, according to the study published by HealthDay News on Monday.

The new finding suggests that ghrelin may not be as critical to energy expenditure as its cellular receptor, called growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R), according to the study conducted by researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

That means that GHS-R might make a better target for treating obesity in humans, the researchers said.

The role of the ghrelin protein in appetite and energy balance was discovered in 1999.

In the study, the researchers found that deleting GHS-R from the body cells of mice prevented obesity by diminishing so-called "white fat" tissue and activating "brown fat" tissue, thereby increasing the production of fat-burning body heat.

The finding "shows the complexity of ghrelin and its signaling pathway, and suggests the existence of additional unidentified regulators mediating the effect of ghrelin and/or GHS-R," Yuxiang Sun, the study's lead researcher, was quoted as saying.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet