Adipotide (FTPP)

1. Adipotide and Weight Loss

Adipotide was developed and entered Phase I clinical trials in 2011 to study its ability to kill fat cells. Tests on rhesus monkeys showed that adipotide causes apoptosis in targeted cells in the blood vessels of white adipose tissue (fat). Without a blood supply, the fat cells die. The end result is rapid weight loss, rapid decrease in body mass index (BMI), and improvement in insulin resistance characteristics. Interestingly, fat peptide treatment and subsequent fat loss not only improved body weight, but actually promoted changes in eating behavior. Monkeys that lost weight with adiponectin also showed a reduction in food consumption.1].

2. Adiponectin and cancer

Inhibin, a molecule potentially targeted by adiponectin in adipocytes, has been linked to certain types of cancer.3]. It is well known that cancer cells require a large blood supply to grow and metastasize. The ability to target inhibin in cancer cells may provide advanced therapies that target cancer without harming surrounding tissues.

3. Fatty peptides and glucose tolerance

Glucose tolerance is a term that refers to higher than normal blood sugar levels. The condition is usually diagnosed through a blood test and confirmed by testing fasting blood glucose levels or by performing a glucose tolerance test, in which a certain amount of sugar is consumed and then blood glucose blood levels are measured. Glucose tolerance is a surrogate indicator of diabetes and an increase in glucose tolerance indicates a tendency to develop diabetes.

Elevated blood sugar levels can be treated through diet and exercise, but these methods require dedication and motivation. They also take a considerable amount of time to produce results. In general, most people with impaired glucose tolerance will develop overt type 2 diabetes, requiring medications such as metformin and, in some cases, insulin. Studies of adiponectin have shown that the peptide improves glucose tolerance rapidly and independently of body weight.4]. The latter part is crucial because it shows that adiponectin reduction of white fat effectively reduces glucose tolerance, regardless of the effect on body weight. In other words, it is fat reduction, not weight reduction, that matters. These findings not only open the way for the development of new treatments for prediabetes and diabetes, but also help clarify and explain the mechanisms that lead to diabetes.

There is some debate as to whether adiponectin directly leads to fat loss, or simply reduces food intake and thus indirectly leads to fat loss.4]. It is likely that adiponectin leads directly to fat loss. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that peptides cause changes in adipocyte density but not weight loss, and affect glucose tolerance but not weight loss.