A research team led by Professor Kezhong Zhang, Ph.D., at the Wayne State University School of Medicine’s Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics and the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, has made a key discovery in a stress-induced hormone produced by the liver called hepatokine. The finding could be used to counteract hyperlipidemia and the associated cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

Dr. Zhang and colleagues discovered the novel hepatokine, a hormone derived from a membrane protein called CREBH, in response to increased energy demands or stress challenges, such as those induced by fasting. The hepatokine, named “CREBH-C,” can stimulate triglyceride breakdown and promote blood triglyceride and fatty acid clearance.

The related discoveries were published in “A hepatokine derived from the ER protein CREBH promotes triglyceride metabolism by stimulating lipoprotein lipase activity,” and featured as a cover story in the journal Science Signaling.

Wayne State University researchers, including Assistant Professor Hyunbae Kim, Ph.D., Research Associate Zhenfeng Song, Ph.D., and Associate Professor Ren Zhang, Ph.D., M.D., contributed to the work. University of Iowa Associate Professor Brandon Davies, Ph.D., collaborated with the WSU team.