Science

Obesity, characterized by a body mass index (BMI) over 30, is a global health crisis affecting 1 in 8 people worldwide contributing to multiple diseases like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer.

The primary cause of obesity is a positive energy balance where people consume more energy than they expend. This energy balance, and ultimately body weight, is controlled by the a small region of the brain that called the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is the master regulator that controls appetite and energy expenditure via two major neuronal (brain cells) subpopulations, the orexigenic or appetite inducing neuropeptide Y (Npy)/ agouti-related peptide (Agrp) expressing neurons and the anorexigenic or appetite supressing pro-opiomelanocortin (Pomc) expressing neurons. These neurons can sense hormonal (e.g., insulin, leptin) and nutrient (e.g., sugar, fat, amino acid) signals from the blood and adjust feeding and energy expenditure accordingly.

However, there are multiple factors that can leads to the disruption of the hypothalamus and impair its ability to properly control energy balance and body weight, such as consumption of fat and sugar rich meals, medical conditions like insulin resistance, exposure endocrine disrupting chemicals like BPA, and shift work.

Our solution is a plant produced hormone, ZAP-010, that can act on the hypothalamus to restore energy balance and thus combat obesity. Briefly, ZAP-010 decreases the production of Npy, the strongest appetite stimulating neuropeptide, and increases Pomc, an appetite suppressing peptide. Overall leading to a reduction in appetite and increases in energy expenditure.