What this means
Scientists gave a drug to fruit flies on high-sugar diets. The drug reduced fat buildup and helped flies live longer. This does not show the same effect would happen in people.
Plain-English summary written by an AI model from the abstract. The original is below.
- Who it was tested in
- Fruit flies (Drosophila)
- Kind of research
- A study
The science
- Original title
- Pharmacological protection from a sugar-rich diet through inhibition of Ras/MAPK signaling.
- Authors
- Laskovs M, Cook JS, Pitt AR et al.
- Journal
- iScience
- Published
- Oct 13, 2026
- Study type
- Study
- PMID
- 42866606 ↗
Abstract
Consumption of sugar-rich diets adversely affects health and reduces life expectancy through the excessive production and storage of triacylglycerides (TAGs), leading to metabolic dysfunction. Here, we show that in Drosophila, pharmacological inhibition of Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling using the highly specific MEK inhibitor, trametinib, mitigates several of the detrimental effects of a high-sugar diet by reducing TAG accumulation, restoring TAG composition, and increasing survival. Notably, Ras/MAPK activity is required for the transcriptional response to elevated sugar intake, including expression of the glucagon-like hormone, Akh. We further demonstrate that adipokinetic hormone (AKH) is essential for the protective effects of trametinib under high-sugar conditions. Together, our findings support Ras/MAPK signaling as an important link between dietary sugar and metabolic dysfunction and show that its pharmacological inhibition can uncouple excess sugar intake from adverse metabolic outcomes.
Laskovs M, Cook JS, Pitt AR et al. Pharmacological protection from a sugar-rich diet through inhibition of Ras/MAPK signaling. iScience. 2026. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2026.117656. PMID: 42866606. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42866606/