Research

Hormonal

Activation of the Constitutive Androstane Receptor (CAR) using the agonist TCPOBOP prevents and reverses obesity and improves insulin sensitivity in high-fat diet-induced and genetic mouse models of type 2 diabetes.

This research identifies the Constitutive Androstane Receptor (CAR) as a potential target for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes. While the specific drug used (TCPOBOP) is experimental, the findings suggest that activating CAR through approved drugs (like phenobarbital) or nutraceuticals might help manage metabolic health. Current evidence is limited to animal models, so human application requires further clinical validation.

ModerateSupportsHIGH confidence
Treatment of wild type mice with the CAR agonist 1,4-bis[2-(3,5 dichloropyridyloxy)] benzene (TCPOBOP) efficiently prevented obesity from happening or reversed preinduced obesity. Treatment with TCPOBOP improved insulin sensitivity in both the HFD-induced type 2 diabetic model and the ob/ob mice.
Jie Gao et al. · Journal of Biological Chemistry · 2009

Why this rating

High-quality mechanistic data in animal models, but not human clinical trials.

Source

The Constitutive Androstane Receptor Is an Anti-obesity Nuclear Receptor That Improves Insulin Sensitivity

Jie Gao et al. · Journal of Biological Chemistry · 2009

DOI 10.1074/jbc.m109.016808

mechanism_onlyCited 233×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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