PEPITEM, an immunopeptide, could give a breakthrough method to lowering the risk of obesity-related illnesses.
Highlights:
A peptide (small protein) called PEPITEM could give a game-changing strategy to lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related disorders like hepatic steatosis (fatty liver), according to new research.
- Obesity produces complicated and significant changes in adipose (fat) tissue metabolism, pancreatic damage, decreased insulin sensitivity, and, finally, the hyperglycemia that characterizes type 2 diabetes
- PEPITEM treatment dramatically reduced insulin-producing cell expansion in the pancreas as well as immune cell migration into diverse tissues
- It could provide an innovative therapeutic method that could deliver new medications to attack the fundamental cause of obesity-related disorders by reducing the harm caused by systemic inflammation
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‘PEPITEM, a peptide (small protein), may give a game-changing approach to lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related disorders such as hepatic steatosis (fatty liver).’
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Peptide That Reduces Expansion of Insulin-Producing Cells
The researchers employed an obese animal model to see if PEPITEM, administered via a slow-release pump, might prevent or reverse the effects of a high-fat diet on the pancreas. Excitingly, the injection of PEPITEM drastically reduced the expansion of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, as well as immune cell migration into numerous tissues.Advertisement
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New Drugs for Obesity-Related Conditions
Dr. Helen MCGettrick and Dr. Asif Iqbal from the University of Birmingham's Department of Inflammation and Aging and the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences headed the research team. Dr McGettrick said: “We have found a new therapeutic approach that could provide new drugs to tackle the root cause of obesity-related conditions by preventing the damage caused by systemic inflammation." PEPITEM was discovered in 2015 by Birmingham researchers who explained its involvement in the adiponectin-PEPITEM pathway, which regulates the onset and severity of auto-immune and chronic inflammatory illnesses.Advertisement
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C-peptide test can help in the correct diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. This simple and cheap test can differentiate between Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes, as well as other genetic forms of diabetes.
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Effects of Obesity
Obesity produces complicated and significant changes in adipose (fat) tissue metabolism, pancreatic damage, decreased insulin sensitivity, and, finally, the hyperglycemia that characterizes type 2 diabetes. It also triggers a low-level inflammatory response throughout the body, prompting white blood cells to infiltrate multiple tissues such as visceral adipose tissue (fat stored deep within the body wrapped around organs such as the liver and stomach) and the peritoneal cavity (a thin membrane that encompasses the gut).In comparison to controls, treatment with PEPITEM while the mice were on a high-fat diet dramatically reduced the expansion of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas and the number of white blood cells in the visceral adipose tissue and peritoneal cavity.
The researchers also investigated the ability of PEPITEM to counteract the effects of obesity by feeding the animals a high-fat diet before treatment with PEPITEM. They had similar outcomes, which was exciting.
Dr. Asif Iqbal commented: “Until now we have understood very little about how the inflammation that accompanies obesity drives pathology. These results show us that PEPITEM can both prevent and reverse the impact that obesity has on metabolism. The next stage is to translate these exciting results into therapeutics that can be used in humans.”
Professor Ed Rainger from Birmingham’s Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences led the team that first identified PEPITEM. He commented, “We are all very excited about these latest results. PEPITEM is a naturally occurring peptide. We have already shown it has effects on several organs and now for the first time, we have shown that PEPITEM is effective in a model of a disease process that is not driven by the immune system alone.”
The University of Birmingham Enterprise had previously filed patent applications covering PEPITEM compositions and therapeutic uses and has now filed a new application covering its use in the prevention or treatment of obesity-related inflammatory conditions such as chronic low-grade systemic inflammation and pancreatic beta-cell damage.
Source-Medindia
PEPITEM: The Inflammageing Warrior
PEPITEM, a naturally occurring peptide, may rejuvenate the immune response in older individuals and protect against age-related diseases by mitigating chronic inflammation.
PEPITEM, a naturally occurring peptide, may rejuvenate the immune response in older individuals and protect against age-related diseases by mitigating chronic inflammation.
