Researchers from the University of Aberdeen have shown that a drug being trialled for the treatment of breast cancer and diabetes is capable of ‘melting away’ the fat build up inside arteries that can cause heart attacks and strokes.
Arterial fat
Using pre-clinical mouse models, the researchers demonstrated that a single dose of Trodusquemine reversed the effects a fatty build up in the arteries — atherosclerosis. The drug works by stopping an enzyme, PTP1B, which is normally found at higher levels in people with obesity or diabetes and conditions involving prolonged inflammation such as sepsis, inflamed diabetic foot ulcers and allergic lung inflammation. Additionally, the researchers found that the drug stimulated another protein, AMPK, which mimics exercise and reduces chronic inflammation.
The drug has already been proven effective in patients with breast cancer and diabetes but this new research is the first time it has been shown to be effective for the treatment of long-term cardiovascular disease.
“All humans have some level of atherosclerosis. As you age you start to develop these fatty streaks inside your arteries. It is a big problem for people who are overweight or have underlying cardiovascular conditions,” explained the study leads, Professor Mirela Delibegovic and Dr Dawn Thompson from the University of Aberdeen’s Institute of Medical Sciences. “Trodusquemine has already been trialled for treatment of diabetes and breast cancer but this is the first time it has been used in models of atherosclerosis.
“These have only been tested at pre-clinical level, in mice, so far but the results were quite impressive and showed that just a single dose of this drug seemed to completely reverse the effects of arthrosclerosis,” they added. “The next step is to test the ability of this drug to improve outcomes in human patients with developed atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.”
Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation (which funded the research), said: “Trodusquemine is in early clinical trials for the treatment of diabetes. This study shows it can also limit the build-up of fatty atherosclerotic plaques in mice. If we see the same effect in patients, the drug may prove even more useful than currently hoped for.”
