ArticleNature communications2024
Artesunate treats obesity in male mice and non-human primates through GDF15/GFRAL signalling axis.
Article in Nature communications, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Artemisinin and its derivatives for metabolic syndrome: From multi‑target mechanisms to translational opportunities (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2026Review
- Tangerine Peel Polysaccharide Alleviates High-Fat Diet-Induced Renal Lipotoxicity in Association with Gut Microbiota Remodeling in Mice.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- A Lineup for Next Anti-Obesity Medicines: Beyond Incretin-Based Pharmacotherapy.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Artesunate Ameliorates APAP-induced Liver Injury by Promoting NEDD4L-Mediated Ubiquitination and Degradation of TXNIP.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Artesunate directly targeting MMP9 to reduce angiogenesis and increase CD8 + T cell infiltration inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma.Cancer cell international · 2026Article
- Heme as activator and target for artemisinin: Towards multiple pharmacological bioactivity.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2026Review
- Artesunate nanoliposomes in hepatocellular carcinoma: mechanistic ferroptosis induction and translational opportunities.Discover oncology · 2026Review
- Artesunate Targets MBL2 to Modulate the TLR4/NRF2/HO‑1 Axis and Ameliorate Podophyllotoxin‑Induced Liver Injury.Drug design, development and therapy · 2026Article
- GDF15 Is Elevated in Eating Disorders and Is Involved in the Gut-Brain Axis via Ghrelin.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2026Article
- Revisiting the role of GDF15 in atherosclerosis in mouse and human.Acta pharmacologica Sinica · 2025Article
- MT1-MMP inhibition rejuvenates ageing brain and rescues cognitive deficits in obesity.Cell discovery · 2025Article
- Report of the 5th International Symposium on Frontiers in Molecular Science (ISFMS 2025).International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Artemisinin and Its Derivatives from Molecular Mechanisms to Clinical Applications: New Horizons Beyond Antimalarials.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- The clinical antiprotozoal drug halofuginone promotes weight loss by elevating GDF15 and FGF21.Science advances · 2025Article
- Artesunate: A Review of Its Potential Therapeutic Effects and Mechanisms in Digestive Diseases.Pharmaceutics · 2025Review
- Emerging Roles of GDF15 in Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases.Research (Washington, D.C.) · 2025Review
- From malaria fighter to diabetes guardian: the emerging role of artesunate in treating diabetes and diabetic complications.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Artesunate-mycophenolate Mofetil Dimer Micelles Alleviate Allogeneic Skin Graft Rejection by Inhibiting the TLR-4 Pathway in Macrophages.Theranostics · 2025Article
- Artesunate improves cryopreserved yak sperm quality by activating SOD1 antioxidant pathway.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Article
- Artesunate Mitigates Sepsis-Induced Acute Kidney Injury via Lactate/AMPK/mTOR-Regulated Autophagy Based on Multi-Omics.Drug design, development and therapy · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
17 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Obesity, a global health challenge, is a major risk factor for multiple life-threatening diseases, including diabetes, fatty liver, and cancer. There is an ongoing need to identify safe and tolerable therapeutics for obesity management. Herein, we show that treatment with artesunate, an artemisinin derivative approved by the FDA for the treatment of severe malaria, effectively reduces body weight and improves metabolic profiles in preclinical models of obesity, including male mice with overnutrition-induced obesity and male cynomolgus macaques with spontaneous obesity, without inducing nausea and malaise. Artesunate promotes weight loss and reduces food intake in obese mice and cynomolgus macaques by increasing circulating levels of Growth Differentiation Factor 15 (GDF15), an appetite-regulating hormone with a brainstem-restricted receptor, the GDNF family receptor α-like (GFRAL). Mechanistically, artesunate induces the expression of GDF15 in multiple organs, especially the liver, in mice through a C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP)-directed integrated stress response. Inhibition of GDF15/GFRAL signalling by genetic ablation of GFRAL or tissue-specific knockdown of GDF15 abrogates the anti-obesity effect of artesunate in mice with diet-induced obesity, suggesting that artesunate controls bodyweight and appetite in a GDF15/GFRAL signalling-dependent manner. These data highlight the therapeutic benefits of artesunate in the treatment of obesity and related comorbidities.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.