Scientists have discovered naturally occurring molecules AIDS Appetite control and weight loss is very good and can compete with popular GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic.
It is called BRP (Brinp2-related peptide) and works By activating specific neurons in the brain A similar method to GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) agonists. The difference between the two peptides is the metabolic pathways each takes to get there.
Stanford University pathology researcher Lattia Kosoro led the team to design an AI-based drug discovery program called “peptide predictors.” This had identified 373 proteins for further investigation among thousands of possibilities. From this haystack, they screened 100 peptides that could induce the types of brain activity needed to suppress appetite.
One of these was a small BRP molecule consisting of only 12 amino acids.
In the lab, GLP-1 peptide increased the markers of activity in human insulin cells threefold, and growth factors increased the activity in brain cells tenfold.
In comparison, BRP increased the marker of activity in both neurons and insulin-producing cells over 10-fold.
Animal testing in lean male mice revealed that BRP infusions could result in half the amount of food eaten in the subsequent hours. It had the same effect on minipigs, whose metabolism and feeding behaviors are more similar to humans.
When obese mice were given these BRP injections over 14 days, they lost an average of 4 grams compared to controls. And almost all of that weight loss was due to body fat, not muscle.
Semaglutide treatment can cause muscle and bones as well as fat loss. 20% of my weight has been lost. This raises questions about the long-term effects of taking drugs like Ozempic for weight loss. For example, further research is needed to determine whether heart health can be afflicted.
GLP-1 agonists may also be accompanied by other unpleasant side effects. Nausea and constipation. Meanwhile, aNIMAL tests for BRP showed no signs of these side effects or muscle loss, probably because the molecules activate different brain receptors.
“Semaglutide targets receptors are found not only in the brain, but also in the intestine, pancreas, and other tissues.” say Stanford Pathology Researcher Catlin Svenson.
“That’s why Ozempic has a wide-ranging effect, such as slowing down food movements through the digestive tract and lowering blood sugar levels.”
Meanwhile, BRP appears to work in the hypothalamus, the brain’s appetite and metabolic centre, and activates completely different metabolic and neural pathways to semaglutide.
Whether it comes to the market will depend on how molecules function in the human body that Svensson’s company will soon investigate in clinical trials.
A lot of money should be made when developing drugs to treat obesity, and the market is expected to increase. Scientists predict that by 2050, four out of five Americans will be obese or overweight.
If proven safe and effective, BRP, alongside Ozempic, Wegovy, and side by side, step into an increasingly crowded ring of peptide-based weight loss drugs. Tilzepatide.
“The shortage of effective drugs to treat human obesity has been a problem for decades,” Svenson said. say.
“What we tested previously is not compared to semaglutide’s ability to lose appetite and weight. [BRP] It is safe and effective for humans. ”
This study was published in Nature.
