Metabolic diseases are far-reaching and on the rise with nearly 10% of the total US population suffering from diabetes. New methods to fight the epidemic are urgently needed as current technologies continue to fall short. This technology indicates that treatment with the recombinant protein Lcn-2 dramatically increases insulin levels and improves several key measures of metabolism in a dose-dependent manner. The technology has great potential as a therapeutic for diabetes, obesity, muscle and bone homeostasis and other metabolic disorders.
This technology allows for a significant increase in lean muscle mass, a decrease in fat mass and appetite, improved insulin sensitivity, increased islet number, beta cells, and higher insulin levels following glucose challenge tests in mice treated with recombinant Lcn-2 when compared to placebo. In addition, Lcn-2 treatment increases bone mass and expression levels of genes regulating myogenesis, fatty acid oxidation and mitochondrial activity in muscle, demonstrating the range of this technology. All doses tested demonstrated Lcn-2 treatment is safe and mimimal inflammatory response, facilitating the transition to human clinical trials.
The technology has been rigorously validated using in vivo mouse studies, microarray analysis, and cell culture. Human studies have also shown that Lcn-2 levels are significantly reduced in type II diabetic patients when compared to healthy controls.
Patent Pending (US 20140057838)
Tech Ventures Reference: IR 2914