Anti-obesity gene "one in a million", this therapy is expected to simulate miraculous gene mutations

On July 27, 2021, AstraZeneca announced a collaboration with Regeneron to jointly develop and commercialize a new small molecule drug targeting GPR75 to treat obesity and related comorbidities
.

In a research paper published a few days ago in the top academic journal "Science", researchers sequenced the gene exomes of nearly 650,000 people and finally identified 16 rare gene mutations that affect the body mass index (BMI)
.
Among them, people who carry at least one inactive copy of GPR75 usually weigh 5.

The researchers further tested the effect of the GPR75 gene on body weight in mice
.
They knocked out this gene in mice, mimicking the lack of protein function

▲Mutant mice with one allele knocked out and both alleles knocked out have 25% and 44% lower weight gains than normal mice (picture source: reference [4])

The level of blood sugar control in mice that knocked out the GPR75 gene was also significantly enhanced
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Therefore, inhibiting GPR75 may provide a new strategy for the treatment of obesity

Note: The original text has been deleted

Reference materials:

[1] AstraZeneca and Regeneron to research, develop and commercialise new small molecule medicines for obesity.

[2] Regeneron's latest genetics discovery hooks AstraZeneca — now all-in on developing small molecules for obesity.

[3] AstraZeneca teams up with Regeneron for obesity-busting drug pact focused on genetics.

[4] Parsa Akbari et al.