A Northwestern study in mice found that an experimental RNA therapy combined with semaglutide limited muscle loss to 5.5%, versus about 10% with semaglutide alone. Mice also had about 4 grams of body fat, versus nearly 8 grams, and better blood-sugar control.
The RNA therapy blocks ZFP423, a gene that normally prevents energy-storing white fat from becoming beige fat, which burns energy. Researchers said the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to show an RNA therapy can activate thermogenesis, the body’s calorie-burning process. The therapy alone also improved blood-sugar control and reduced body fat in mice without muscle loss.
Senior author Joseph Bass said the team plans to test the therapy in human cells. Northwestern filed a provisional patent naming Bass and study first author Anneke Thorne as inventors; the National Institutes of Health helped fund the research.
