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This week in therapeutics Indication

Target/marker/pathway Summary

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Endocrine/metabolic disease Diabetes; obesity

Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family member A1 (ALDH1A1)

Mice and human tissue studies suggest Patent and licensing antagonizing ALDH1A1 could help treat   obesity status undisclosed  and type 2 diabetes. Obese humans and mice fed a high-fat diet showed greater ALDH1A1 expression in visceral white fat than lean controls. In mice fed a high-fat diet, an Aldh1a1 antisense oligonucleotide decreased weight gain and visceral fat mass compared with a control antisense oligonucleotide. The antisense oligonucleotide also improved insulin and glucose tolerance. Next steps include elucidating the mechanisms that underlie the observed effects and exploring how to modulate the target.

Kiefer, F.W. et al. Nat. Med.; published online May 6, 2012; doi:10.1038/nm.2757 Contact: Jorge Plutzky, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass. e-mail: [email protected]

SciBX 5(21); doi:10.1038/scibx.2012.552 Published online May 24, 2012

SciBX: Science–Business eXchange

Copyright © 2012 Nature Publishing Group

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