This technology is a treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) that inhibits the production of triglycerides in the liver. .
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the result of compensatory hyperinsulinemia combined with hepatic de novo lipogenesis, and contributes to the overall cardiovascular risk of obesity. Currently, there is no approved pharmacologic therapy for NAFLD, with the only clinical recourse being liver transplantation. As a result, there is a substantial need to identify pathways and pharmacologic targets to assist in management of obesity-related morbidity and mortality.
This technology identifies Kctd17, a ubiquitin adaptor protein, as a therapeutic target to treat NAFLD. Kctd17 has been shown to display increased expression in obese livers and serves as a binding partner for pleckstrin homology domain leucine rich repeat protein phosphatase (PHLPP2), which is a key regulator of fatty acid synthesis. Therefore, by administering compounds capable of reducing KCTD17 expression in liver cells, a patient’s hepatic and plasma triglyceride levels may be effectively reduced. As a result, use of Kctd17 inhibitors offers a potential treatment for NAFLD and other obesity-related conditions.
This technology has been validated in diet-induced mouse models of obesity.
Patent Pending (WO/2017/189989)
IR CU17195
Licensing Contact: Cynthia Lang