Weight loss medications like Ozempic have changed the way obesity is treated, between rapid weight loss and difficult side effects to live with. Stanford scientists announced today that they have discovered a small natural protein that controls appetite in animals.
This candidate, baptized BRP for “BRINP2-related peptide”, is a tiny fragment of 12 amino acids. It activates appetite neurons in a similar way to
GLP-1 agonistsbut via other circuits.
In mice and pigs, it significantly reduces food intake and weight. Enough to imagine a natural protein that rivals Ozempic with fewer side effects. The race is on.
BRP, the small natural protein that wants to compete with Ozempic
To find BRP, Laetitia Coassolo’s team created an artificial intelligence algorithm, “Peptide Predictor”. He screened thousands of human proteins and hundreds of potential peptides.
Among a hundred molecules tested on neurons, BRP strongly awakened the activity of nerve and insulin-producing cells. And this, much more than the classic GLP-1.
When they injected BRP into lean mice just before a meal, the researchers saw the amount of food swallowed drop by about 50% in the following hour. A result reproduced in small pigs, with a metabolism close to ours.
In obese mice treated for 14 days, the average loss of about 4 g came almost entirely from fat, with muscle mass preserved.
Fewer side effects than Ozempic: what BRP really changes
Semaglutide, active ingredient ofOzempic and Wegovy, mimics the GLP-1 hormone and binds to widespread receptors.
“The receptors targeted by semaglutide are found in the brain but also in the intestine, pancreas and other tissues“, says pathology researcher Katrin Svensson, quoted by ScienceAlert.
“This is why Ozempic has broad effects, including slowing the passage of food through the digestive tract and lowering blood sugar.”. These treatments cause significant weight loss, but up to 20% of the weight lost can come from muscles and bones, with frequent nausea and constipation.
In studies of BRPon the contrary, researchers do not observe nausea, aversion to food, or muscle wasting in the animals. Which argues for an action mainly centered on the hypothalamus, the conductor of the appetite.
“The lack of effective drugs to treat obesity in humans has been a problem for decades.”adds Katrin Svensson.
“Nothing we’ve tested before compares to semaglutide’s ability to decrease appetite and body weight. We are very eager to learn whether (BRP) is safe and effective in humans.”
BRP remains an experimental molecule, tested on a few groups of animals and over short periods of time.
From artificial intelligence to clinical trials: what next for BRP?
The study, published in the journal Natureis just the beginning. The company co-founded by Katrin Svensson is now preparing clinical trials to verify the effect of BRP in humans.
Between safety tests, effectiveness studies and marketing authorizations, several years of research are expected. And for the moment, BRP is not available in pharmacies, neither in France nor elsewhere.