Adipotide

Adipotide

An obesity drug that 'kills' fat cells

Most weight-loss drugs help burn fat by speeding up metabolism, suppressing appetite, or both. But a new drug currently being tested on obese rhesus monkeys goes a step further: It reportedly "kills" fat cells. Researchers at the University of Texas think the drug could one day help fight obesity in humans. Here's what you should know:

During the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States and rates remain high. In 2010, no state in the United States had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. Approximately one in three adults and one in six children are obese. Obesity is epidemic in the United States today and a major cause of death, attributable to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Despite significant efforts in the past decade, very few drugs have been successfully developed for the treatment of obese patients. Currently, only two Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs for weight loss are available in the United States: the appetite suppressant phentermine and the inhibitor of fat absorption orlistat. Orlistat (Xenical) is a weight-loss medication for long-term weight loss. This medication blocks the digestion and absorption of fat in your stomach and intestines. Other attempts to treat obesity have also predominantly focused on drugs aimed at suppressing appetite or increasing metabolism, but these efforts have been hampered by their toxic side-effects. Unfortunately, it’s common to regain weight no matter what obesity treatment methods you try.

In contrast, an MD Anderson group designed a new drug, the ligand-directed peptidomimetic CKGGRAKDC-GG-D(KLAKLAK)2 (termed adipotide), which is a synthetic peptide that triggers cell death. The drug acts on white adipose tissue. The white adipose tissue is the unhealthy type of fat that accumulates under the skin and around the abdomen.

In earlier preclinical research, obese mice lost about 30 percent of their body weight with this peptidomimetic peptide. Monkeys from three different species displayed predictable and reversible changes in renal proximal tubule function. Overall and abdominal body fat levels drop, with reversible renal side effects Weight, BMI and abdominal circumference all continued to drop for three weeks after treatment ended before slowly beginning to reverse during the fourth week of the follow-up period. Monkeys in the studies demonstrated no signs of nausea or food avoidance. The renal effect was dose-dependent, predictable and reversible. This is a potentially important finding since unpleasant side-effects have limited the use of approved drugs that reduce fat absorption in the intestines.

Together, these data in primates establish adipotide as a prototype in a new class of candidate drugs that may be useful for treating obesity in humans.

What is this fat-killing drug?
The experimental drug is called Adipotide, and it works by targeting the cells found in white fat tissue, says Steven Reinberg at USA Today. Adipotide kills fat "by attaching itself to fat cells in the blood vessels and triggering a synthetic protein that causes the cell to die." Afterward, those dead cells are reabsorbed by the body and metabolized.

And it made these fat monkeys skinny?
Skinnier, at least. In just four weeks, the obese monkeys lost 11 percent of their body weight. The monkeys also shed 27 percent of their abdominal fat, says Tim Barribeau at io9. Caveat: "Monkeys that were already thin didn't shed pounds at all, meaning it might only target extra weight, not the stuff we need to survive."
 

Would this work on humans?
It's promising. Usually, fat burning drugs are tested on mice. Researchers believe this research is particularly "relevant because it was done with primates," says Jennifer Booton at Fox Business. Plus, the fatter monkeys in the study had grown portly thanks to their own overeating and lack of exercise; just like many obese humans.

 An animal study says a new experimental drug may lead to significant and rapid weight loss by destroying blood supply to fatty cells. The drug called Adipotide helped obese rhesus monkeys lose on average 11 percent of their body weight after four weeks of treatment. The drug which works on the basis of a new cancer treatment targets proteins on the surface of blood vessels that feed white fat cells and destroys them by releasing a synthetic molecule that triggers a natural process of cell death. Researchers led by scientists at the University of Texas first studied the efficacy of the new drug on obese mice which decreased 30 percent of their body weight. The next trial was carried out on 15 monkeys as their similarities to mankind make them a good model to predict the possible effectiveness and side effects of a medication in human. After four weeks, the 10 primates that received a daily injection of Adipotide lost on average 38.7 percent of their total body fat, compared to 14.8 percent for the five others who were given placebo. Treated monkeys also lost 27 percent of their abdominal fat, scientists wrote in the journal Science Translational Medicine. [1] Body mass index (BMI) and abdominal circumference (waistline) also were reduced, while all three measures were unchanged in untreated control monkeys. "Development of this compound for human use would provide a non-surgical way to actually reduce accumulated white fat, in contrast to current weight-loss drugs that attempt to control appetite or prevent absorption of dietary fat," Renata Pasqualini, co-senior author of the study, said. Previous attempts to treat obesity have predominantly focused on drugs aimed at suppressing appetite or increasing metabolism, but these efforts have been hampered by their toxic side-effects. The new drug designed by the MD Anderson group includes a homing agent that binds to a protein on the surface of fat-supporting blood vessels and a synthetic peptide that triggers cell death, as soon as their blood supply gone, fat cells are reabsorbed and metabolized. In earlier preclinical research, obese mice lost about 30 percent of their body weight with the drug, Adipotide, which acts drug acts on white adipose tissue, the scientific name for the unhealthy type of fat that accumulates under the skin and around the abdomen, and is a disease and mortality predictor. [2] The MD Anderson group designed a new drug, which includes a homing agent that binds to a protein on the surface of fat-supporting blood vessels and a synthetic peptide that triggers cell death. Their blood supply gone, fat cells are reabsorbed and metabolised. Co-senior author Professor Wadih Arap, said: "Obesity is a major risk factor for developing cancer, roughly the equivalent of tobacco use, and both are potentially reversible." In earlier preclinical research, obese mice lost about 30 per cent of their body weight with the drug, now called Adipotide. [3]

As a result of the challenges in developing weight-loss drugs there's presently only one FDA-approved obesity drug on the market, Alli, which blocks the absorption of some of the fat people eat. "There can be no doubt about the need for new strategies here," he said. "And this represents a quantum leap in terms of a new strategy for treating obesity." Pasqualini and Dr. Wadih Arap, her husband and also an M.D. Anderson researcher, were able to develop the obesity drug after devising a technique to "map" the various networks of blood vessels in the human body. During more than a decade of research, they have identified the tiny bits of protein that bind with various networks of blood vessels in the body. In essence, then, they have identified "ZIP codes" for each of these kinds of blood vessels, and now are sending agents to the ZIP code for fat cell blood vessels that can shut them down. Their initial work in obese mice several years ago produced astounding results in which the mice lose more than 30 percent of their body weight following treatment with the drug. They were able to subsequently test the drug in primates at M.D. Anderson's monkey facility near Bastrop. [4] Several drugs have failed so far to clear regulatory hurdles, hampered especially by safety worries. At M.D. Anderson, Renata Pasqualini and Wadih Arap, a wife-and-husband research team, and their laboratory colleagues have developed a map of the body's blood-vessel system as part of an effort to develop more effective cancer treatments. Their work has shown that different blood-vessel cells have distinct molecular signatures that the researchers liken to ZIP codes. The researchers theorized they could deprive tumors of their blood supply by combining a lethal therapy with a molecule that homed in on the ZIP code of cells in blood vessels that feed cancerous growths. After identifying ZIP codes they thought might work in prostate cancer, they wondered about the possibility of targeting vessels that feed white fat cells, which accumulate under the skin and around organs in the abdomen, and are associated with weight gain. [5]

The report has also claimed that during the experiments the very same drug has enhanced various metabolic activities among monkeys and insisted that around three species of primates have responded to synthetic peptide vaccination and alerted the metabolic functions. Dr. Wadih Arap, the co-author of the study, who is serving as an oncologist at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, in collaboration with his wife Renata Pasqualini, an expert performing cancer related research have applauded the research results with significant weight loss and improved metabolic activities. During the study course, a team of experts at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, situated in Houston, had treated a few monkeys with a protein compound named as adipotide, which is believed to influence and kill the fat cells through fluctuated blood supply to them. Afterwards, they observed excellent results in a short span of time, only after 28 daily injections, where monkeys shed more than 11% of their body weight. [6] Targeted approach provides a new avenue for potential anti-obesity medication. HOUSTON -- Obese rhesus monkeys lost on average 11 percent of their body weight after four weeks of treatment with an experimental drug that selectively destroys the blood supply of fat tissue, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports in Science Translational Medicine. [7] A research team led by scientists at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center tested a group of overweight rhesus monkeys with a drug that selectively destroys the blood supply of fat tissue. After just four weeks, the primates lost on average 11 percent of their body weight and the researchers measured drops in body mass index (BMI) and waistline, according to the study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. [8] An experimental drug that selectively destroys the blood supply of fat tissue is being considered as an opportunity by scientists to provide a new avenue for anti-obesity medication. Researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center treated "spontaneously" obese rhesus monkeys with the drug for four weeks and found that they lost on average 11 percent of their body weight. [2]
 

Obese monkeys lost significant amount of weight with a new drug that kills fat cells, paving the way for its development for use in humans, a study finds. Obese monkeys lost an average 11 percent of their weight in four weeks of treatment with the drug, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. It also trimmed their waistlines by eradicating 27 percent of their abdominal fat. [9] Could a drug kill fat cells? That's the tantalizing promise of a new study on an experimental drug developed by scientists at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The researchers tested the drug on rhesus monkeys and found that they lost 11 percent of their body weight after four weeks of treatment. [10]

For years, doctors have recommended low-calorie, high-fiber diets and exercise routines that encourage good health and better physiques. Unfortunately, these recommendations inspire little hope in those who have big upcoming plans that require quick weight loss. Americans like things to happen quickly, and many spend hundreds of dollars on pills and diet plans that promise to show them how to lose weight fast. Sometimes these products work; sometimes they don't. One thing appears certain: if a new drug called adipotide hits the market any time soon, a lot of these companies may be out of business. A research study at MD Anderson Cancer Center has given new hope to those in search of an effective pill that provides quick weight loss. According to the researchers, when they gave overweight monkeys a specific protein compound, each one lost about 11 percent of their original body weight despite not exercising at all. [11] Dr. Kirstin Barnhart feeds a handful of peanuts to a monkey used. Dr. Kirstin Barnhart (left) poses for a portrait along with fellow scientist Patrick Hanley after feeding peanuts to two monkeys used in a recent study for a new drug developed by Houston scientists that caused obese monkeys to lose 10 percent of their body weight in a month, at the MD Anderson Cancer Center Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, in Bastrop. Several Rhesus macaque monkeys were selected from the colony of 950 due to their naturally obese bodies and lifestyles, helping provide a perfect test model for human obesity and Type 2 diabetes treatment. [4]

Appetite is also curbed. When monkeys that had become fat by overeating and not exercising were given daily jabs of the drug, they shed 11 per cent of their weight in just four weeks. In human terms, an obesity drug is usually seen as beneficial if a person loses around 5 per cent of their weight in six months. The animals also shed 39 per cent of their overall body fat and bellies were trimmed by 27 per cent, the journal Science Translational Medicine reports. Some kidney problems were noted but researchers, from the MD Anderson Cancer Centre at the University of Texas, believe these can be overcome. They plan to give the drug to obese prostate cancer patients, in the hope of improving their overall health. [12] With Britain batting the worst weight problem in Europe, scientists believe a drug that works by cutting off the blood supply to fat cells could offer a new way to tackle obesity. If injected on a daily basis, researchers believe the medication could help people lose 40 per cent of their body fat in just four weeks. The U.S. team behind the new drug believe their formulation will be safer than previous diet drugs, which have been banned over safety fears in recent years, as it works directly on the body rather than the brain. Adipotide hones in on the blood vessels that supply fat cells with blood, causing them to perish and also curbing appetite. Monkeys injected with the drug shed 11 per cent of their weight in a month. The journal Science Translational Medicine reports that the animals also shed 39 per cent of their overall body fat and their bellies were trimmed by 27 per cent. [13] Researchers behind the drug, following the same strategy used to fight some cancers, designed Adipotide to kill fat cells by destroying the blood vessels that feed them, the Los Angeles Times reports. The researchers confirmed that the monkeys--which they call the "couch potatoes" of the colony--had shed the white body fat linked to Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. They hope to begin human trials of the drug within a year. The monkeys began to put on weight again four weeks after they stopped taking the drug. Its creators say that if it works in humans, it should be used as a way to kick-start a diet and exercise program for permanent weight loss. [14]

A drug that kills a type of fat cell by choking off its blood supply caused significant weight loss in obese monkeys, potentially setting the stage for a new pharmaceutical approach to attacking obesity, according to a study released Wednesday. After four weeks of treatment, obese monkeys given daily injections of the drug, called adipotide, lost an average of 11% of their body weight. They also had big reductions in waist circumference and body-mass index and, importantly, striking improvement in their ability to process insulin, researchers said. [5] WASHINGTON -- There is new hope in the fight against fat after a surprising discovery made by scientists looking for new ways to treat cancer. Historically, weight loss products have targeted appetite or fat absorption, but scientists say this new technique kills fat cells by cutting off their blood supply. In a study published on Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine, researchers from the University of Texas say injecting a peptide called "adipotide" into obese monkeys made the animals eat less, shed belly fat and increased their metabolic function -- without any change to their diets or exercise regimens, The Los Angeles Times reports. It also resulted in improved insulin resistance, which could be helpful in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. [15]

The drug, called Adipotide, targets the blood supply of fat cells and the researchers say the treated monkeys' health improved in a number of ways afterwards: weight, BMI and abdominal circumference continued to drop. The only major side effect was on the kidneys, but the researchers said it was manageable and depended on the amount of the dose. The next step is studying this drug in humans. The researchers say they hope to begin testing it on obese prostate cancer patients since the hormone therapy used in prostate cancer often brings on weight gain, which would add to the health risks for these patients. Given the highly experimental nature of this drug, it's way too soon to say whether this will ever help humans struggling to lose weight but it's always interesting to note a new approach to an old problem. In the meantime, the best advice for those who want to lose pounds is still eat less, exercise more. [10]

In tests the drug Adipotide, when given on a daily basis, reduced body fat by 39% and stomach fat by 27% in four weeks. Researchers allowed monkeys to gain weight by eating too much and not exercising, then injected them with the drug. The monkeys lost 11% of their weight in a month and the team said the results were so promising they were keen to start testing the drug on obese people. Although the team from the MD Anderson Cancer Centre at the University of Texas said some of the monkeys had kidney problems from the jab, they thought this issue could be resolved. The injectable targets blood vessels in the body which give fat a blood supply and makes them die, while also reducing appetite. [16] Researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston gave monkeys a drug, a protein compound called adipotide, that targets the blood supply to fat cells and kills them. After only 28 daily injections of the drug the monkeys lost an average of 11 percent of their body weight. [17]

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5. Arrowhead Research Corp : The Wall Street Journal: Drug Offers Hope in Obesity Fight | 4-Traders
6. Experts Applaud a Cancer Drug for Immediate Weight Loss | News Tonight
7. Obese monkeys lose weight on drug lim. JPost - Health & Science
8. Drug Kills Fat Cells In Obese Monkeys | Fox News
9. Medical Daily: Drug Helped Obese Monkeys Lose Weight, Human Trial Ahead
10. Fat-Fighting Drug | Health Goes Strong
11. How Do You Lose Weight Fast? New Drug May Be the Answer
12. Pot belly blaster: A jab to banish 40% of body fat in just a month | Mail Online
13. Jab to banish body fat | Marie Claire
14. Drug Slims 'Couch Potato' Monkeys - Experimental fat-zapping drug works on chunky monkeys
15. WTOP Mobile
16. New jab gets rid of 39% of body fat in a month - AOL Lifestyle UK
17. Drug helps monkeys lose weight, are humans next? - TODAY Health - TODAY.com
18. US Research Reveals Trial Drug to Shed Weight of Monkeys | News Tonight
19. Novel Drug Shrinks Monkeys' Waistlines - ScienceNOW
20. Experimental drug slims obese monkeys - USATODAY.com