Scripps Research and Calibr scientists collaborated to discover potential therapeutic treatments for metabolic diseases. “Metabolism” describes the body’s chemical changes that create the necessary ingredients for growth and overall health. Metabolites are the substances made and used during thes
Scientists uncovered a metabolite that converts white fat cells to brown fat cells. This discovery offers a potential path to treating metabolic conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Researchers used cutting-edge drug discovery technologies to uncover a metabolite that converts white fat cells to brown fat cells. This revelation offers a potential way of addressing obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other metabolic conditions. Moreover, it speaks to the promise of using this creative drug discovery method to identify countless other potential therapeutics.
DIAM uses technologies such as liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to pool through thousands of molecules and identify specific metabolites. In this case, the researchers first reduced 30,000 metabolic features to just 17 metabolites, and then found myristoylglycine—an active endogenous metabolite that was able to convert white fat cells to brown fat cells, similar to the drug zafirlukast.
While an encouraging find, zafirlukast is toxic when administered at higher doses, and it wasn’t entirely clear how zafirlukast was converting the fat cells. This is when the researchers partnered with Siuzdak and his team of metabolite experts.