The potential for new ways to treat obesity and metabolic disorders has been expanded by the discovery of an appetite-suppressing protein by a University of Saskatchewan (USask) research team. The findings, published in Nature Communications Biology, emphasize the lipid-lowering effects of nesfatin-1-Like Peptide (NLP) is a recently discovered peptide, a small protein that is closely related to nesfatin-1 (NESF-1), which plays a role in regulating food intake and body weight.
“Our research has shown that both NESF-1 and NLP can reduce the accumulation of fat in human liver cells,” explained Dr. Suraj Unniappan (PhD), a member of the research team and the Centennial Enhancement Chair in Comparative Endocrinology at the University of Saskatchewan, as well as a professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM). This collaborative study involved researchers from the WCVM and the USask College of Medicine.
Prior to this study, the lipid-lowering effect of nesfatin-1 had been reported. However, Dr. Unniappan emphasized the significance of identifying the newly discovered NLP as well.NLP and its potential to lower lipids in human cells are a significant advancement in endocrinology. Unniappan stated that while it’s still early, there are now multiple targets for exploring lipid disease treatment and therapeutic progress. This discovery offers hope for new treatments for metabolic diseases, such as MAFLD, which affects a large portion of the Canadian population.A hormone-based medication was given approval in the United States in March 2024, but currently, there are no medications available in Canada specifically for treating this condition. Treatment plans for both humans and animals with metabolic disease typically involve making changes to diet and exercise in order to gradually decrease body weight and reduce the accumulation of fat. Unniappan and his research team have been leading the way in nesfatin-1 research. Discovered in 2006 by a group of researchers in Japan, nesfatin-1 was initially known for its ability to suppress food intake. The USask team has been at the forefront of this research.Unniappan and Dr. Atefeh Nasri (PhD) took their studies a step further and successfully confirmed that disrupting the NLP gene in mice leads to changes in genes related to lipid metabolism. Unniappan stated, “We found that if you disrupt the gene that is the source of that protein [NLP] naturally present in these animals, then that actually leads to changes in lipid metabolism-associated genes.” These findings demonstrate that NLP plays a crucial role in regulating metabolism, as administering NLP reduces lipid levels, while disrupting its production alters lipid metabolism.In 2023, Dr. Unniappan, who is now a post-doctoral fellow at Dalhousie University, worked with Dr. Scott Widenmaier (PhD), an assistant professor of anatomy, physiology and pharmacology, and an expert in metabolic disease at the USask College of Medicine. The team’s fourth member was undergraduate student Mateh Kowaluk.
Dr. Unniappan hopes that the new research can lead to further exploration of treatment options. He plans to collaborate with others to expand this research to more complex animal models, such as rodents, and eventually study larger animals like cats and dogs. These species, like humans, also suffer from obesity.The same peptide can have numerous positive effects on health, helping both human and animal patients, according to Unniappan. The research was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the USask Centennial Enhancement Chair in Comparative Endocrinology.
