Jan 16, 2026
Oral drug can safely lower triglycerides and other blood lipids, clinical trial finds
by Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan
A visual representation of the study. Credit: X. Li (EPFL)
“When eating, the body converts extra calories, especially from carbs, sugar, fats, and alcohol, into triglycerides. Triglycerides are a form of fat or lipid, which the body stores away into its fat cells as an energy fuel for energy between meals.”
“Excess amounts of fat in the body can be dangerous, causing a condition known as hypertriglyceridemia (excess triglycerides in the blood), which significantly increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and pancreatitis. This is why people are universally advised to make healthy lifestyle choices in diet and exercise, while particularly bad cases require medication.”
Dialing down a receptor
“Keeping blood fats in check depends on a careful balance. The liver and intestine release fat particles into the bloodstream, while enzymes work to break them down and clear them away. When fat production outpaces clearance, triglycerides build up, setting the stage for metabolic diseases like dyslipidemia, acute pancreatitis, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).”
"One of the master switches in this system is a protein called Liver X Receptor, or LXR, which controls several genes that are involved in making and handling fats."
“When LXR is active, triglycerides and cholesterol tend to rise. Dialing it down through medication seems promising, but as LXR is also involved in protective cholesterol pathways elsewhere in the body, blocking it everywhere could do more harm than good. This dilemma has held the field back for years.”
A drug that specifically targets liver LXR
“Now, scientists led by Johan Auwerx at EPFL and Mani Subramanian at OrsoBio have addressed this problem with an orally administered compound that can repress the activity of LXR specifically in the liver and gut to lower triglycerides without disrupting the body’s protective cholesterol pathways.”
“The compound, TLC‑2716, is what is known as an inverse agonist for the LXR. Unlike a blocker (antagonist) that merely stops a receptor from being activated, an inverse agonist makes the receptor signal the opposite effect to what it would normally do.”
“The study, which is published in Nature Medicine, is the first of this type to be tested in humans.”
More details review PR;
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-oral-drug-safely-triglycerides-blood.html
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