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Scripps Florida Scientists Develop New Compound that Reverses Fatty Liver Disease
http://www.scripps.edu/news/press/2012/20121219burris.html
JUPITER, FL, December 19, 2012 – Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed the first synthetic compound that can reverse the effects of a serious metabolic condition known as fatty liver disease. True to its name, the disease involves an abnormal buildup of fat in the liver.
The compound—known as SR9238—is the first to effectively suppress lipid or fat production in the liver, eliminating inflammation and reversing fat accumulation in animal models of fatty liver disease. The new compound also significantly lowered total cholesterol levels, although precisely how that occurred remains something of a mystery.
“We’ve been working on a pair of natural proteins called LXRα and LXRβ that stimulate fat production in the liver, and we thought our compound might be able to successfully suppress this process,” said Thomas Burris, a professor at TSRI who led the study, which was recently published in an online edition of the journal ACS Chemical Biology. “Once the animals were put on the drug, we were able to reverse the disease after a single month with no adverse side effects—while they ate a high-fat diet.”
Fatty liver, which often accompanies obesity and type 2 diabetes, frequently leads to more serious conditions including cirrhosis and liver cancer. The condition affects some 10 to 24 percent of the general population, according to a 2003 study in GUT, an international journal of gastroenterology and hepatology.
Burris and his colleagues designed SR9238 so that it would be quickly metabolized in the liver to minimize migration of the drug into the bloodstream, which could lead to side effects.
In the study, mice were fed a high-fat diet for 14 weeks prior to treatment with SR9238. After one month of treatment, the scientists found that the liver’s fat-producing genes were repressed and fat expression in the liver was reduced up to 90 percent.
In addition, the scientists observed an 80 percent reduction of the enzyme responsible for producing cholesterol (3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A Reductase)—the same enzyme targeted by statins.
Markers for liver damage were down as well, which suggests the compound may also have the potential to treat alcohol-related fatty liver damage.
The first author of the study, “A Liver Selective LXR Inverse Agonist that Suppresses Hepatic Steatosis” is Kristine Griffett of TSRI. Other authors include Laura A. Solt, Bahaa El-Dien M. El‐Gendy and Theodore M. Kamenecka, also of TSRI. For more information on the paper, see http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cb300541g
The work was supported by the State of Florida.
About The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) is one of the world's largest independent, not-for-profit organizations focusing on research in the biomedical sciences. Over the past decades, TSRI has developed a lengthy track record of major contributions to science and health, including laying the foundation for new treatments for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, and other diseases. The institute employs about 3,000 people on its campuses in La Jolla, CA, and Jupiter, FL, where its renowned scientists—including three Nobel laureates—work toward their next discoveries. The institute's graduate program, which awards PhD degrees in biology and chemistry, ranks among the top ten of its kind in the nation. For more information, see www.scripps.edu.
# # #
For information:
Eric Sauter
Tel: 267-337-3859
***@****
JUPITER, FL, December 19, 2012 – Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed the first synthetic compound that can reverse the effects of a serious metabolic condition known as fatty liver disease. True to its name, the disease involves an abnormal buildup of fat in the liver.
The compound—known as SR9238—is the first to effectively suppress lipid or fat production in the liver, eliminating inflammation and reversing fat accumulation in animal models of fatty liver disease. The new compound also significantly lowered total cholesterol levels, although precisely how that occurred remains something of a mystery.
“We’ve been working on a pair of natural proteins called LXRα and LXRβ that stimulate fat production in the liver, and we thought our compound might be able to successfully suppress this process,” said Thomas Burris, a professor at TSRI who led the study, which was recently published in an online edition of the journal ACS Chemical Biology. “Once the animals were put on the drug, we were able to reverse the disease after a single month with no adverse side effects—while they ate a high-fat diet.”
Fatty liver, which often accompanies obesity and type 2 diabetes, frequently leads to more serious conditions including cirrhosis and liver cancer. The condition affects some 10 to 24 percent of the general population, according to a 2003 study in GUT, an international journal of gastroenterology and hepatology.
Burris and his colleagues designed SR9238 so that it would be quickly metabolized in the liver to minimize migration of the drug into the bloodstream, which could lead to side effects.
In the study, mice were fed a high-fat diet for 14 weeks prior to treatment with SR9238. After one month of treatment, the scientists found that the liver’s fat-producing genes were repressed and fat expression in the liver was reduced up to 90 percent.
In addition, the scientists observed an 80 percent reduction of the enzyme responsible for producing cholesterol (3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A Reductase)—the same enzyme targeted by statins.
Markers for liver damage were down as well, which suggests the compound may also have the potential to treat alcohol-related fatty liver damage.
The first author of the study, “A Liver Selective LXR Inverse Agonist that Suppresses Hepatic Steatosis” is Kristine Griffett of TSRI. Other authors include Laura A. Solt, Bahaa El-Dien M. El‐Gendy and Theodore M. Kamenecka, also of TSRI. For more information on the paper, see http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cb300541g
The work was supported by the State of Florida.
About The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) is one of the world's largest independent, not-for-profit organizations focusing on research in the biomedical sciences. Over the past decades, TSRI has developed a lengthy track record of major contributions to science and health, including laying the foundation for new treatments for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, and other diseases. The institute employs about 3,000 people on its campuses in La Jolla, CA, and Jupiter, FL, where its renowned scientists—including three Nobel laureates—work toward their next discoveries. The institute's graduate program, which awards PhD degrees in biology and chemistry, ranks among the top ten of its kind in the nation. For more information, see www.scripps.edu.
# # #
For information:
Eric Sauter
Tel: 267-337-3859
***@****
at least .. or as i know .. it is the first drug that can regress fatty liver ..
i mean synthetic drug .. other than supplements like silymarin or fibroguard ...
i hope it works effectively ..
i mean synthetic drug .. other than supplements like silymarin or fibroguard ...
i hope it works effectively ..
it would be wise to check if it has any antiviral effect on hbsag/cccdna similar to ezetimibe or statins, hope they will do this on trials
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