Can Sea Anemone Venom Help to Curb the Obesity Epidemic?
July 5, 2013Obesity Drug Made From Sea Anemone Venom Shows Great Promise
A report recently published by a University of California Irvine (UCI) research team indicates that a drug derived from sea anemone venom has been found to have powerful potential for the treatment of obesity and diabetes. The study, which was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that a peptide called ShK-186 reduced the weight, blood sugar and cholesterol in obese mice by blocking the activity of a protein that promotes inflammation through one of the body's potassium channels. (Kv1.3) The Kv1.3 channel regulates cell membranes and multiple other cellular processes.
In the testing, obese mice ate a high-fat, high-sugar diet. Interestingly enough, the ShK-186 compound had no effect on mice that ate a standard diet which suggests that the high-sugar and fat diet triggers the activity of the compound.
The ShK peptide was first discovered in the 1990s by a UC Irvine team led by George Chandy, MD, a professor of physiology and biophysics.
In 2009, UC Irvine licensed ShK-186 to a Seattle biotechnology company called Kineta Inc. ShK-186 is now the company's leading drug candidate and is being developed to treat autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, and psoriatic arthritis. Kineta is currently conducting clinical trials with ShK-186 and has also begun testing for it's use for the treatment of metabolic syndrome and obesity.
"This is a new twist in a sustained journey of discovery for people who suffer from the potentially lethal consequences of metabolic syndrome and autoimmune diseases," Chandy said in a press release.
The chief of endocrinology at the UC Irvine Diabetes Center and co-author of the study, Ping H. Wang, MD, says that ShK-186 is different from other diabetes treatments now on the market.
“Obesity contributes to the development of type 2 diabetes. ShK-186 is different because it also helps control diabetes by improving obesity,” Wang said. “ShK-186 works by improving blood glucose...and glucose tolerance by enhancing insulin sensitivity. The drug increases the uptake of glucose by calorie-burning brown fat.”
While additional studies are still needed, the potential affects of ShK-186 on the treatment of obesity and diabetes are enormous.