Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health created an antibody capable of improving glucose regulation and reducing fatty liver in obese test mice. The new antibody works by targeting the hormone aP2, which is also known as FABP4, in fat-storing (adipose) tissues.

With the surge of obesity traits in adipose tissues and increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases long established, it became clear that the adipose tissue is a crucial player in disease development.

According to Gokhan S. Hotamisligil, the study's importance manifested in two. First, it demonstrated that aP2 is a critical hormone in abnormal glucose metabolism, and second, it proved that the hormone can be targeted to treat diabetes and possibly other diseases immunometabolic in nature.

A previous work from Hotamisligil's lab identified the aP2 protein as another important factor that facilitates communication between the liver and adipose tissue. The levels of aP2 hormones in people living with diabetes, obesity and atherosclerosis (disease of the arteries) are high. It goes that reducing the levels of aP2 hormones reduces the risk of developing the illnesses.

Therefore, tactics on how to modify the levels of aP2 and its function can lead to the development of new medications against the chronic diseases.

The team discovered that one of the monoclonal antibodies that targets aP2 can improve glucose regulation across two obesity models. The antibody was also able to reduce liver fat.

The work is still in its preclinical stage. Further studies are needed to test its efficacy and safety before pushing for clinical tests on human participants. However, these monoclonal antibodies promise a cure for obesity-associated immunometabolic diseases.

The study was a collaboration between teams from the global biopharma company UCB and a team of researchers from Harvard Chan School led by Hotamisligil and M. Furkan Burak, the study's lead author. Burak is currently an internal medicine resident at the Mount Auburn Hospital in Massachusetts.

Hotamisligil is a J.S. Simmons Professor of Genetics and Metabolism and the chair of Sabri Ülker Center and Harvard Chan School's Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases.

The study is a fusion of UCB's monoclonal antibody discovery and Hotamisligil's aP2 biology experience and was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine on Dec. 23, 2015.