Silvie Hojná: Anorexigenic neuropeptides in the treatment of obesity

Obesity and its complications have reached epidemic proportions. Therefore, finding new, more effective drugs for the treatment of obesity without side effects is a major challenge. Natural anorexigenic neuropeptides have this potential, but their major disadvantage is their low stability in plasma and inability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) after peripheral administration. One strategy to develop peptidic drugs is based on peptide lipidization. This modification leads to increased stability and half-life of the peptide in the organism and allows its application in the periphery because lipidized peptides are able to cross the BBB. In Monday’s seminar, you will hear the full story of the development of anorexigenic analogs of prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP), including their implications not only for the treatment of obesity, but also for their other potential applications.

Mahak Arora: Role of mTOR in cardiometabolic dysfunction

Cardiometabolic disorders (CMDs) such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity are associated with damage to key organs such as the heart, liver and kidneys. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway, which is critical for cell metabolism and growth, is often dysregulated in these diseases. In a mouse model of steatohepatitis, the mTOR inhibitor KU-0063794 ameliorated oxidative stress, reduced liver triglycerides and downregulated TNF-alpha mRNA by altering mTOR signaling. Recent pilot studies in high-fat fed SHR rats treated with empagliflozin and salt-sensitive Dahl rats exposed to high or low salt diet showed significant changes in mTOR-related genes such as mtor, akt, pgc1a, srebp, etc. in liver and kidney. These results suggest that mTOR plays a key role in the regulation of cardiometabolic functions