Metabolic benefits of ketohexokinase inhibition in individuals with MASLD: a randomized placebo-controlled crossover trial.
High fructose consumption, particularly from sugar-sweetened beverages, contributes to cardiometabolic disease. Here we study the metabolic effects of 6-week pharmacological inhibition with PF-06835919 of ketohexokinase, the enzyme that catalyses the first committed step of fructose metabolism, in a randomized placebo-controlled crossover trial in 15 participants with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. The primary outcome was hepatic insulin sensitivity, measured by insulin-stimulated suppression of endogenous glucose production. Secondary outcomes included fat distribution, peripheral and adipose tissue insulin sensitivity, and fat oxidation. While PF-06835919 treatment did not affect body weight, it improved hepatic insulin sensitivity and reduced intrahepatic lipid and saturated fatty acid content. Besides these beneficial hepatic effects, PF-06835919 also improved insulin-stimulated glucose disposal, adipose tissue insulin sensitivity, adipose tissue distribution and nocturnal fat oxidation. These changes are accompanied by changes in very low-density lipoprotein particle size distribution and circulating hepatokines. These results show that inhibition of fructose metabolism has beneficial metabolic effects that extend beyond the organs that metabolize fructose. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05463575 .
Authors
Koene Koene, Schrauwen-Hinderling Schrauwen-Hinderling, Basset-Sagarminaga Basset-Sagarminaga, Brouwers Brouwers, Op den Kamp-Bruls Op den Kamp-Bruls, Mevenkamp Mevenkamp, Haans Haans, Schaart Schaart, Kornips Kornips, Jorgensen Jorgensen, Scheijen Scheijen, Schalkwijk Schalkwijk, van Weeghel van Weeghel, Vaz Vaz, Houtkooper Houtkooper, Wong Wong, Kersten Kersten, Saxena Saxena, Esler Esler, Schrauwen Schrauwen, Brouwers Brouwers
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