Drug Discovery Opinion

A recent report in the journal Cell Metabolism (Cell Metab. 2008,7(5):377-388) identifies the serine/threonine kinase, calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase 2 (CAMKK2), as a key component of the ghrelin signalling pathway. Ghrelin, which is produced in the stomach, is a polypeptide that promotes food intake by increasing production of the appetite-stimulating neurotransmitter, neuropeptide Y, by the hypothalamus. The authors established the role of CAMKK2 in appetite control and glucose tolerance both by experiments with CAMKK2-null mice and by administering the CAMKK2 inhibitor, STO-609, to normal mice. CAMKK2 is expressed at low levels in peripheral tissue and the effects of inhibition are likely to be brain-specific. The results suggest that blocking CAMKK2 has the potential to promote weight loss and improve glucose tolerance.

STO-609

Other approaches to the management of obesity targeting the ghrelin pathway are being investigated. A group at the Scripps Institute has developed an anti-obesity vaccine that is directed against ghrelin and a number of groups are investigating small molecule modulators of the ghrelin receptor.

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