Drug Mimics Endurance Training

Thursday, August 22nd, 2013

A drug candidate developed at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), SR9009, mimics endurance training:

The compounds work by binding to one of the body’s natural molecules called Rev-erb?, which influences lipid and glucose metabolism in the liver, the production of fat-storing cells and the response of macrophages (cells that remove dying or dead cells) during inflammation.

In the new study, a team led by scientists at the Institut Pasteur de Lille in France demonstrated that mice lacking Rev-erb? had decreased skeletal muscle metabolic activity and running capacity. Burris’ group showed that activation of Rev-erb? with SR9009 led to increased metabolic activity in skeletal muscle in both culture and in mice. The treated mice had a 50 percent increase in running capacity, measured by both time and distance.

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