New hormone ‘can replicate the effect of exercise’

Researchers in the US have identified a new hormone that is able to normalise the metabolism and counteract the health impact of a high-fat diet.

Discovered by the University of Southern California (USC) Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, the MOTS-c hormone primarily targets muscle tissue and is able to restore insulin sensitivity, thus reversing diet-induced and age-dependent insulin resistance.

In doing so, the substance can effectively mimic the physical effects of exercise. Tests using mice showed that the hormone helped to prevent animals from growing obese or developing an insulin resistance.

The MOTS-c intellectual property has now been licensed to a biotechnology company, and clinical trials in humans could begin within the next three years.

Changhan Lee, assistant professor at USC Davis and lead author of the study, said: "This discovery sheds new light on mitochondria and positions them as active regulators of metabolism."

Such a hormone could play an instrumental role in the future treatment of obesity, a condition that is becoming increasingly prevalent in many parts of the Western world.