Cross-talk between PI3K/AKT/GSK3 and AMPK/SIRT1 signaling pathways in the development of obesity and metabolic disorders – a molecular-pharmacological approach to study triterpenoids (PAGAS) – under contract number KП-06-Н83/4 from 03.12.2024

Obesity is a major risk factor for many chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disorders and damage to the nervous and musculoskeletal systems. Despite a remarkable proportion of scientific, medical and socio-economic resources invested in the study and control of obesity, it has escalated in recent decades to pandemic proportions. Projections indicate that by 2035, more than a quarter of the world’s population, or nearly 4 billion people, will be overweight or obese. Advances in molecular pharmacology, aided by “-omics” approaches, have provided an enriched molecular map of signaling pathways involved in obesity and metabolic dysfunctions. There is multidirectional regulation between these signaling pathways that needs to be explored in detail.

Project KP-06-H83/4 employs a multidisciplinary approach, combining molecular pharmacology, metabolomics and phytochemistry, to ensure that its main objective, the modulation of signaling pathways involved in the development of obesity by natural triterpene compounds, is achieved. The scientific program of the project includes the combination of in vivo models of obesity and oxidative stress with metabolomic analysis, and the expected results will make a significant contribution to the field of pharmacology of metabolic diseases and in unraveling the mechanism of action of the prion triterpene compounds. The project is implemented by the Center for Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology in partnership with the Institute of Microbiology “Stefan Angeloff” at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The project entitled “Cross-talk between PI3K/AKT/GSK3 and AMPK/SIRT1 signaling pathways in the development of obesity and metabolic disorders – a molecular-pharmacological approach to study triterpenoids”, led by Assoc. Prof. Liliya V. Mihailova, is funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund within the Funding competition for basic research 2024 under contract number KП-06-Н83/4 from 03.12.2024 with total amount of funding of 450 000 BGN and duration of 3 years.