Fatty acids are, among other things, building blocks for body fat. This study may show how this excess is signaled in the brain. The C75 work comes out of the team's 14-year exploration of the abnormal fat metabolism that exists in many cancer cells. Breast, prostate and cancer cells, for example, make a lot of fat. C75 was one of the chemicals the researchers created to inhibit FAS and clarify what was happening.
Obesity is a huge problem.
We're hoping to explore the possibilities of this new pathway. The study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, the W.M. Keck Foundation and the Steward and the Raynam Research Trusts. Under a licensing agreement between The Johns Hopkins University and Fasgen Inc., Drs. Kuhajda, Townsend, Ronnett, Loftus, and Lane are entitled to a share of royalties received by the University on sales of products based on the technology described in this news release. The terms of this arrangement are being managed by The Johns Hopkins University in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.