The long and winding TRAIL to weight loss.
TRAIL [TNF (tumour necrosis factor)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand] is in clinical trials for the treatment of cancer. In the present issue of Clinical Science, Bernardi and co-workers report that the administration of TRAIL in mice fed on a high-fat diet resulted in reduced adiposity and improved metabolic responses to a glucose and insulin tolerance test compared with mice without TRAIL. The metabolic improvements were associated with a higher rate of apoptotic fat cells and with a reduction in the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. These results suggest that TRAIL could be an exciting new therapeutic for treating obesity, but further studies are required to determine its major mechanisms of action.
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5. blumerr@mcmaster.ca
Regje M E
RM
Blümer
Gregory R
GR
Steinberg
D050154:Adiposity; D000818:Animals; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D053221:TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand / Q000502:physiology*
D004041:Dietary Fats; D053221:TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand; C505654:Tnfsf10 protein, mouse