Defective regulation of the ubiquitin/proteasome system in the hypothalamus of obese male mice.

In both human and experimental obesity, inflammatory damage to the hypothalamus plays an important role in the loss of the coordinated control of food intake and energy expenditure. Upon prolonged maintenance of increased body mass, the brain changes the defended set point of adiposity, and returning to normal weight becomes extremely difficult. Here we show that in prolonged but not in short-term obesity, the ubiquitin/proteasome system in the hypothalamus fails to maintain an adequate rate of protein recycling, leading to the accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins.