Repurposing lansoprazole to alleviate metabolic syndrome via PHOSPHO1 inhibition

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Drug repurposing offers an efficient approach to therapeutic development. In this study, our bioinformatic analysis first predicted an association between obesity and lansoprazole (LPZ), a commonly prescribed drug for gastrointestinal ulcers. We went on to show that LPZ treatment increased energy expenditure and alleviated the high-fat diet-induced obesity, insulin resistance, and hepatic steatosis in mice. Treatment with LPZ elicited thermogenic gene expression and mitochondrial respiration in primary adipocytes, and induced cold tolerance in cold-exposed mice, suggesting the activity of LPZ in promoting adipose thermogenesis and energy metabolism. Mechanistically, LPZ is an efficient inhibitor of adipose phosphocholine phosphatase 1 (PHOSPHO1) and produces metabolic benefits in a PHOSPHO1-dependent manner. Our results suggested that LPZ may stimulate adipose thermogenesis by inhibiting the conversion of 2-arachidonoylglycerol-lysophosphatidic acid (2-AG-LPA) to 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and reduce the activity of the thermogenic-suppressive cannabinoid receptor signaling. In summary, we have uncovered a novel therapeutic indication and mechanism of LPZ in managing obesity and its related metabolic syndrome, and identified a potential metabolic basis by which LPZ improves energy metabolism.

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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