• UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine
UCLA Health

UCLA Health
  • About Us
    • What is UCLA Health?
    • Contact Us
    • Your Feedback
    • Accountable Care Organization
    • Awards & Achievements
    • Careers
    • Careers for Physicians
    • Departments - Administrative
    • Departments - Clinical
    • Industry Relations
    • In the Community
    • Innovation & Technology
    • Leadership
    • News Releases
    • Social Media
    Vital SignsLinked Graphic: Subscribe to Health Newsletters
    • Contact
    • Your Feedback
    • Accountable Care Organization
    • Awards and Achievements
    • Careers
    • Careers for Physicians
    • Departments - Administrative
    • Departments - Clinical
    • Industry Relations
    • In the Community
    • Innovation & Technology
    • Leadership
    • News Releases
    • Social Media
  • Conditions & Treatment
    • Health Library
    • Tests & Procedures
    • Drug Interaction Checker
    • Brain & Nervous System
    • Cancer
    • Children's Health
    • Heart Disease
    • Nutrition & Wellness
    • Pregnancy & Newborns
    • Orthopedics
    • Women's Health
    • Video Library
    • Cancer
    • Cardiovascular
    • Chiropractic
    • Cosmetic Surgery
    • Ear, Nose and Throat
    • Gastrointestinal
    • General Healthcare
    • Neurological
    • Obstetrics/Gynecology
    • See all videos...
    Symptom Checker
    • Video Library
  • Locations

    Hospitals

    • Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
    • UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica
    • UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital
    • Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital
    • Institutes and Centers
    • Take a Virtual Tour

    Medical Offices/Clinics

    • Primary Care
    • Specialty Care
    • Urgent Care Centers
    • Outpatient Surgery Centers
    • Imaging/Radiology Locations
    • Clinical Labs
    • Pharmacies
    • Coming Soon

    Interactive Map

    interactive map

    • UCLA Hospitals
    • Take a Virtual Tour
    • Primary Care Practices
    • Specialty Care Practices
    • Urgent Care Centers
    • Outpatient Surgery Centers
    • Other Locations
    • Interactive Map
    • Coming Soon!
  • Medical Services
  • For Patients & Visitors
    • Directions & Parking
    • Appointments: Call, Click, Come In
    • Admissions Information
    • Preparing For Surgery
    • Patient Services
    • Security & Parking Services
    • Office of the Patient Experience
    • For International Patients
    • Lodging & Nearby Services
    • Around Westwood
    • Gift Shops & Flowers
    • Health Resources
    • Log in to myUCLAhealth
    • About myUCLAhealth
    • Billing Information
    • Medical Records
    • Accountable Care Organization (ACO)
    • Covered California
    • Health Plans
    • Interactive Patient Education Videos (Emmi)
    • FAQs
    • Calendar of Events
    • Share your story. Connect. Share. Improve. UCLA Health
    • Share Your Story
    • Health Publications
    • Vital Signs Newsletters
    • Health Tips for Parents
    • Contact Us
    • Appointments: Call, Click, Come in
    • Admissions Information
    • Advance Directive
    • Covered California
    • Health Plans
    • Directions & Parking
    • Patient Services
    • Medical Records
    • myUCLAhealth
    • Smoke-Free
    • Publications
    • Health Resources
    • Around Westwood
    • Lodging
    • Preparing For Surgery
    • Patient-focused Technology Council
    • Health Forms
    • End of Life Option Act: Resources & Materials
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Gift Shops
  • For Healthcare Professionals
    • Referring a Patient
    • E-Referral
    • Continuing Medical Education
    • Ethics Center
    • UCLA HealthLink
    • Physician to Physician Access Line (P2P)
    • David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
    • Clinical Informatics Fellowship
    • Academic Positions
    • Physician Careers
    • UCLA School of Nursing
    • Department of Nursing

    Physician Publications

    • Physicians Update
    • Clinical Updates
    • U Magazine
    • E-Referral
    • Physician to Physician Access Line (P2P)
    • Physician Careers
    • Clinical Informatics Fellowship
    • Flu Resources for Healthcare Professionals
    • Publications
  • Multimedia
    • UCLAMDCHAT Webinars
    • Community Health Program Videos
    • UCLAORLive Surgery
    • iTunes
    • Download Our Apps
    • Mini Med School
    • Demystifying Cancer Forum
    • TEDx UCLA Videos
    • Tips from our Physical Therapists
    • Patient Stories
    • Real Questions
    • Webinars on Demand
    • Pediatric Grand Rounds
    • Tune in to watch our health webinars
    • Community Health Program Videos
    • UCLAORLive Surgery
    • UCLAMDChat Webinars
    • iTunes
    • Download Our Apps
    • Mini Med School
    • Demystifying Cancer Forum
    • TEDx UCLA Videos
    • Tips From Our Physical Therapists
    • Patient Stories
    • Real Questions
    • Back Pain Management
  • Find a Provider
  • UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine

About Us

About Us

About Us

  • Contact
  • Your Feedback
  • Accountable Care Organization
    • CMS Medicare Shared Savings Program
    • UCLA MSSP ACO
    • ACO - Anthem Blue Cross PPO
      • Anthem Blue Cross PPO ACO FAQ
  • Awards and Achievements
    • UCLA Health hospitals rank among nation’s best in U.S. News survey
    • UCLA Designated a National Magnet Hospital
  • Careers
  • Careers for Physicians
  • Departments - Administrative
  • Departments - Clinical
  • Industry Relations
  • In the Community
    • Community Health
  • Innovation & Technology
    • Contact
  • Leadership
    • Dr. John Mazziotta
    • Johnese Spisso
    • Dr. Kelsey Martin
  • News Releases
  • Social Media
  • Contact
  • Your Feedback
  • Accountable Care Organization
  • Awards and Achievements
  • Careers
  • Careers for Physicians
  • Departments - Administrative
  • Departments - Clinical
  • Industry Relations
  • In the Community
  • Innovation & Technology
  • Leadership
  • News Releases
  • Social Media
  1. Home
  2. About Us
  3. News Releases

News Releases

Share this

Health and Behavior

UCLA researchers create tomatoes that mimic actions of good cholesterol

03/19/2013








Study with genetically engineered tomatoes

Images demonstrate growing and harvesting genetically engineered tomatoes that produce 6F, a small peptide that mimics the action of the chief protein in HDL.

The tomatoes were freeze-dried and made up 2.2 percent of a high-fat diet fed to mice in the study. Note less cholesterol build-up (in red) in the artery of the mouse fed tomatoes with 6F versus the mouse that ate the high-fat diet containing 2.2 percent freeze-dried control tomatoes that did not contain 6F.

UCLA researchers have genetically engineered tomatoes to produce a peptide that mimics the actions of good cholesterol when consumed.

Published in the April issue of the Journal of Lipid Research and featured on the cover, their early study found that mice that were fed these tomatoes in freeze-dried, ground form had less inflammation and plaque build-up in their arteries.

"This is one of the first examples of a peptide that acts like the main protein in good cholesterol and can be delivered by simply eating the plant," said senior author Dr. Alan M. Fogelman, executive chair of the department of medicine and director of the atherosclerosis research unit at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "There was no need to isolate or purify the peptide — it was fully active after the plant was eaten."

After the tomatoes were eaten, the peptide surprisingly was found to be active in the small intestine but not in the blood, suggesting that targeting the small intestine may be a new strategy to prevent diet-induced atherosclerosis, the plaque-based disease of the arteries that can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

After the tomatoes were eaten, the peptide surprisingly was found to be active in the small intestine but not in the blood, suggesting that targeting the small intestine may be a new strategy to prevent diet-induced atherosclerosis, the plaque-based disease of the arteries that can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

Specifically for the study, the team genetically engineered tomatoes to produce 6F, a small peptide that mimics the action of apoA-1, the chief protein in high-density lipoprotein (HDL or "good" cholesterol). Scientists fed the tomatoes to mice that lacked the ability to remove low-density lipoprotein (LDL or "bad" cholesterol) from their blood and readily developed inflammation and atherosclerosis when consuming a high-fat diet.

The researchers found that mice that ate the peptide-enhanced tomatoes, which accounted for 2.2 percent of their Western-style, high-fat diet, had significantly lower levels of inflammation; higher paraoxonase activity, an antioxidant enzyme associated with good cholesterol; higher levels of good cholesterol; decreased lysophosphatidic acid, a tumor-promoter that accelerates plaque build-up in the arteries in animal models; and less atherosclerotic plaque.

Several hours after the mice finished eating, the intact peptide was found in the small intestine, but no intact peptide was found in the blood. According to researchers, this strongly suggests that the peptide acted in the small intestine and was then degraded to natural amino acids before being absorbed into the blood, as is the case with the other peptides and proteins in the tomato.

"It seems likely that the mechanism of action of the peptide-enhanced tomatoes involves altering lipid metabolism in the intestine, which positively impacts cholesterol," said the study's corresponding author, Srinavasa T. Reddy, a UCLA professor of medicine and of molecular and medical pharmacology.

Previous studies performed by Fogelman's lab and other researchers around the world in animal models of disease have suggested that a large number of conditions with an inflammatory component — not just atherosclerosis — might benefit from treatment with an apoA-1 mimetic peptide, including Alzheimer's disease, ovarian and colon cancer, diabetes, asthma, and other disorders. 

The immune system normally triggers an inflammatory response to an acute event such as injury or infection, which is part of the natural course of healing. But with many chronic diseases, inflammation becomes an abnormal, ongoing process with long-lasting deleterious effects in the body.

If the work in animal models applies to humans, said Fogelman, who is also the Castera Professor of Medicine at UCLA, consuming forms of genetically modified foods that contain apoA-1–related peptides could potentially help improve these conditions.

The peptide would be considered a drug if given by injection or in a purified pill form, but when it is a part of the fruit of a plant, it may be no different from a safety standpoint than the food in which it is contained — and it may be better tolerated than a drug, Fogelman said. He noted that one possibility could be the development of the peptide into a nutritional supplement.

The current study and findings resulted from years of detective work in searching for an apoA-1 peptide that could be practically produced. Peptides prior to the current 6F version have required additions that can only be made by chemical synthesis. The 6F peptide does not require these additions and can therefore be produced by genetically engineering plants.

The team chose a fruit — the tomato — that could be eaten without requiring cooking that might break down the peptide. The researchers were able to successfully genetically express the peptide in tomato plants, and the ripened fruit was then freeze-dried and ground into powder for use in the study.

"This is one of the first examples in translational research using an edible plant as a delivery vehicle for a new approach to cholesterol," said Judith Gasson, a professor of medicine and biological chemistry, director of UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and senior associate dean for research at the Geffen School of Medicine. "We will be closely watching this novel research to see if these early studies lead to human trials." 

In addition, Gasson noted that this early finding and future studies may yield important and fundamental knowledge about the role of the intestine in diet-induced inflammation and atherosclerosis. 

The study was supported in part by U.S. Public Health Service Research Grants HL-30568 and HL-34343 and by the Laubisch, Castera and M.K. Grey funds at UCLA. Studies on the determination of 6F in intestinal contents and plasma were partially funded by a Network Grant from the Leducq Foundation.

All of the intellectual property is owned by the UC Regents and managed by the UCLA Office of Intellectual Property and Industry Sponsored Research. The technology is currently licensed exclusively to Bruin Pharma Inc. Authors Alan M. Fogelman, Mohamad Navab and Srinivasa T. Reddy are pincipals in Bruin Pharma. Fogelman is an officer in the start-up company. Other disclosures are available in the manuscript.

Other authors included Arnab Chattopadhyay, Mohamed Navab, Greg Hough, David Meriwether, Victor Grijalva, James R. Springstead, Ryan Namiri-Kalantari, Brian J. Van Lenten and Alan C. Wagner of the department of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Robin Farias-Eisener, Feng Gao and Feng Su of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the Geffen School of Medicine; and Mayakonda N. Palgnachari and G.M. Anantharamaiah of department of medicine at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.

Media Contact:
Rachel Champeau
(310) 794-2270
rchampeau@mednet.ucla.edu


Media Contact
Rachel Champeau
(310) 794-2270
rchampeau@mednet.ucla.edu



Latest News

Health and Behavior
Doctors prescribe opioids at high rates to those at increased overdose risk, but trends improving, study finds
04/23/2018
Use in combination with the anti-anxiety drug benzodiazepine may be linked to the current surge in opioid-related deaths.

Health and Behavior
Crop choices: How price supports can contribute to healthier diets
04/19/2018
Professor's model suggests well-designed subsidies can help farmers and give consumers better food choices.

Health and Behavior
UCLA study reports nearly 1 in 3 California kids have a sugary drink daily
04/19/2018
Research confirms that one sugary drink a day can increase people’s risk for Type 2 diabetes, liver disease, tooth decay and obesity.

Health and Behavior
Two UCLA professors elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
04/18/2018
Philippe Bourgouis and Rosa Matzkin join the organization of scholars, artists and innovators, which was founded in 1780.

Health and Behavior
Researchers link sedentary behavior to thinning in brain region critical for memory
04/16/2018
Researchers link sedentary behavior to thinning in a brain region that is critical for memory.

Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Add Us to Your Google+ Circles Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest Follow us on Flickr Follow us on Sharecare
UCLA Health hospitals rank among nation's best in U.S. News survey
  • UCLA Health
  • School of Medicine
  • School of Nursing
  • UCLA Campus
  • Directory
  • Newsroom
  • Publications
  • Giving
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • Privacy Practices
  • Nondiscrimination
  • Emergency
  • Smoke-Free
  • Terms of Use
  • 1-800-UCLA-MD1
  • Maps & Directions
  • Contact Us
  • Report Broken Links
  • Sitemap
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Add Us to Your Google+ Circles Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest Follow us on Flickr Follow us on Sharecare

Sign in to myUCLAhealth