Scientists Solve a 60-Year-Old Fat Cell Mystery — and It Changes What We Know About Obesity

Researchers found that hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) does more than break down fat: it also enters fat-cell nuclei.

Inside adipocytes, HSL helps regulate gene activity and maintain healthy adipose tissue.

This explains why HSL-deficient people and mice lose healthy fat tissue and develop lipodystrophy rather than obesity.

The discovery revises a long-held view of fat metabolism and may inform future treatments for metabolic disease.