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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

TGFβ inhibition, SGI-1252, diet-induced obesity, diabetes

College

Life Sciences

Department

Physiology and Developmental Biology

Abstract

The growing worldwide incidence of obesity and its associated pathologies, like type 2 diabetes, has received much deserved attention. However, despite this attention and substantial research efforts, little meaningful progress has been made in slowing or reversing the growing cost and trends of obesity worldwide.

As of 2008, almost 10% of medical costs in the United States were incurred due to obesity or other obesity-related diseases1, with a substantial amount of this cost stemming from the dramatically increased risk of diabetes with excess fat mass2. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one third of adults in the United States are obese with the number increasing each year. As the cost of obesity related health care continues to grow, it is necessary to continue to search for novel, direct treatment options. While lifestyle and diet changes should continue to be studied, direct treatment options will be important to reverse the epidemic problem of obesity which has already occurred and to reverse any future spread.

The purpose of this project was to elucidate the efficacy of a novel molecule, SGI-1252, in the treatment and reversal of diet-induced obesity and diabetes in mice. Based on preliminary research, we hypothesized that SGI-1252 injected mice would be protected from weight gain and diabetes induced by a high fat, high sugar “western diet.”

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