Talabostat Alleviates Obesity and Associated Metabolic Dysfunction via Suppression of Macrophage-Driven Adipose Inflammation

Objective: Adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) play critical roles in obesity-associated inflammation that contributes to metabolic dysfunction. Talabostat (TB) exerts some therapeutic effects on tumors and obesity. However, it remains unknown whether the metabolic benefits of TB on obesity is dependent on ATM-mediated adipose inflammation.

Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a normal chow diet (NCD) or a high-fat diet for 12 weeks, and mice were orally administered TB daily at a low dose (0.5 mg/kg).

Results: Administration of TB to mice fed a high-fat diet significantly improved adiposity and obesity-associated metabolic dysfunction, including glucose intolerance and Insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia and hepatic steatosis, which were accompanied by increased whole-body energy expenditure. RNA Sequencing analysis revealed extensive alterations in the transcriptome profiles associated with lipid metabolism and immune responses in adipose tissue of obese mice. Notably, TB treatment led to a significant reduction in ATM accumulation and a shift of the activation state of ATMs from the proinflammatory M1-like to the anti-inflammatory M2-like phenotype. Moreover, depletion of ATMs significantly abolished the TB-induced metabolic benefits.

Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that TB at a low dose could increase energy expenditure and control ATM-mediated adipose inflammation in obese mice, thereby alleviating obesity and its associated metabolic dysfunction.