Antibodies are new hope in diabetes

Study showed positive effects with antibodies to type 2 diabetes

12/15/2011

For the first time, a research team has succeeded in modeling antibodies that counteract the metabolic disease diabetes. Experiments showed that the contained proteins could lower the blood sugar level in diabetes-sick mice. Furthermore, a significant body weight reduction was achieved. Already a single administration by injection was able to maneuver the sugar levels almost to the normal range, as the researchers explained. The effect lasted about a month in the experimental setup. But even after that positive effects could be observed. Undesirable effects could not be detected in the animals, as the authors of the abstract write in the scientific journal "Science Translational Medicine". (Science Translational Medicine, 2011; doi: 10.1126 / scitranslmed.3002669)

Researchers around the world are increasingly working to develop drugs to combat diabetes. For years, more and more people are becoming ill with the acquired and chronic metabolic disorder. According to the WHO, around 285 million people currently have diabetes. By the year 2030 it should already be 439 million. Researchers are unaware that the unhealthy lifestyle in developed countries is the main cause of the spread of the disease.

Antibodies overcome resistance
If a diabetes type II disease has been acquired, the organism can not reduce the blood sugar sufficiently, although there is enough insulin in the body circulation. The reason for this are the cells that react to the insulin in healthy people, but here are resistant and no longer respond to the messenger. Recent scientific work indicates that special messengers - so-called FGF proteins - can overcome this negative effect. Now it turned out that this mode of action, as shown in the experimental setups, can also have antibodies, said one of the participating researchers Ai-Luen Wu in San Francisco. The positive effect of lowering the blood sugar level was still observable even when no antibodies were present in the animals, the scientists report.

Weight loss and stimulation of metabolism
Both in the experimental animals with diabetes and in the healthy mice a decrease in body weight was detectable after the preparation was administered. Apparently the feeling of hunger was minimized and the fat metabolism activated. This was shown by the measured oxygen consumption.

The results also rate the researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston as promising. The study suggests that the antibody R1Mab1 causes lasting changes in the metabolism, write Siegfried Ussar and colleagues in an accompanying commentary to the study report.

Messenger substances were activated
But how does the drug work? The newly developed antibodies accumulated at specific binding sites in the pancreas and adipose tissue. This activates the protein FGF21. The protein is already known to stimulate carbohydrate processing and metabolism. Previous studies, from the messenger to develop a drug for diabetes, have so far always failed.

Can the remedy come soon? Currently, the mode of action of the antibodies has only been tested in cell cultures and mice. However, the researchers are confident that with R1Mab1 or a similar antibody, an adequate agent could be developed in the future that could be used in diabetes therapy in humans. The pharmaceutical company Gentech has already filed a patent for the research approaches. However, it is still unclear how long it will take until a suitable drug is designed and tested on humans.

Less side effects expected
The US scientists at Harvard Medical School in Boston speak of a first success. In a companion commentary to the study, they see good odds that the antibodies could help with Type II diabetes and other metabolic diseases. Antibodies are very specific in principle and attach themselves only in special and few structures. Thus, these are less toxic and usually showed fewer side effects than other drugs. Another advantage is that the antibodies are relatively easy to produce by laboratory technology. "More than 30 different monoclonal antibodies are already used today against cancer, autoimmune diseases and infections," comment Ussar and teammates. Therefore, it is not unlikely that these also help against diabetes. (Sb)

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