BioCentury
ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms

Pumping up the metabolic Rev-ERB

April 26, 2012 7:00 AM UTC

Two teams have shown that the nuclear receptors Rev-ERBAα and Rev-ERBAb play a central role in regulating the circadian clock and metabolism,1,2 and a third group has found that agonizing both receptors treats obesity in mice.3 Collectively, the findings suggest Rev-ErbA agonists could help treat a range of metabolic diseases.

Next, agonists with longer half-lives will need to be developed and patient populations that might benefit from the molecules will have to be identified...