BioCentury
ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms

Going for GOAT

December 9, 2010 8:00 AM UTC

A team led by researchers from The Johns Hopkins University has developed the first biologically active inhibitors of ghrelin O-acyltransferase-a recently discovered enzyme that activates the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin. The inhibitors are licensed to Acylin Therapeutics Inc., which will develop derivatives for preclinical studies in metabolic indications.

Levels of ghrelin increase in response to fasting and decrease after a meal.1 Ghrelin's other functions include maintaining glucose homeostasis, spurring gastric motility and promoting the release of growth hormone from the pituitary gland...