# Adipotide

> A fat-targeting proapoptotic peptide that destroys the blood supply of white fat — striking in animals, but discontinued in humans for kidney toxicity.

- Also known as: FTPP, Prohibitin-targeting peptide-1, CKGGRAKDC-GG-D(KLAKLAK)2
- Class: Metabolic
- FDA approved: No
- Canonical page: https://americanpeptide.com/catalog/adipotide

## Overview

Adipotide (FTPP, "fat-targeted proapoptotic peptide") is a chimeric peptide designed to attack obesity from an unusual angle: instead of curbing appetite, it kills the blood vessels that feed white fat. One end is a homing sequence (CKGGRAKDC) that binds prohibitin on the vasculature of fat tissue; the other is a proapoptotic peptide that triggers cell death once delivered. In obese primates it produced rapid, striking fat loss — but its clinical development was halted over kidney toxicity.

Adipotide is one of the boldest ideas in metabolic research: treat obesity like a tumor by cutting off its blood supply. Developed at MD Anderson Cancer Center by Renata Pasqualini and Wadih Arap, it is a chimera of two peptides. The targeting half, the cyclic nonapeptide CKGGRAKDC, recognizes prohibitin displayed on the endothelial cells of the vasculature that specifically supplies white adipose tissue. The payload half, a D-amino-acid proapoptotic sequence written D(KLAKLAK)2, is harmless outside cells but disrupts mitochondrial membranes once the targeting domain gets it inside — killing the fat’s blood vessels and, with them, the fat.

In obese rhesus monkeys the results were dramatic: rapid loss of body weight and fat over a few weeks of treatment. But translating it to people ran into a hard limit. The same peptide accumulates in the kidney, and clinical development was discontinued (around 2019) because of nephrotoxicity — the gap between the fat-reducing dose and the kidney-damaging dose proved too narrow. Adipotide is not FDA-approved and is not in active clinical development; it remains an instructive, cautionary research compound.

## Mechanism

A two-domain peptide: a cyclic CKGGRAKDC motif homes to prohibitin on white-adipose-tissue blood vessels, delivering a D(KLAKLAK)2 proapoptotic sequence that disrupts mitochondrial membranes and triggers apoptosis of the vascular endothelium feeding the fat.

## Chemistry

| Property | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Molecular formula | C111H206N36O28S2 |
| Molecular weight | 2557.2 Da |
| CAS number | 859216-15-2 |
| PubChem CID | [163360068](https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/163360068) |

## Sequence

```
CKGGRAKDC-GG-D(KLAKLAK)2
```

## Research areas

Studied in: Obesity (preclinical), Targeted apoptosis, Adipose vasculature.

Guides on this site:

- [Weight Loss & Metabolic Health](https://americanpeptide.com/research-areas/weight-loss): Incretin and metabolic peptides studied for glycemic control and fat loss.

## Key research

- Antiangiogenic mechanism — homes via prohibitin to the blood vessels feeding white fat and triggers their apoptosis, rather than acting on appetite.
- Two-domain design — a cyclic CKGGRAKDC targeting motif fused to a D(KLAKLAK)2 proapoptotic peptide.
- Primate results — produced rapid, marked weight and fat loss in obese rhesus monkeys.
- Discontinued for nephrotoxicity — clinical development halted (~2019); the therapeutic window against kidney toxicity was too narrow.
- Preclinical / not approved — a cautionary research compound, not FDA-approved.

## Storage, handling & synthesis

**Synthesis.** Adipotide is a chimeric peptide: a disulfide-cyclized CKGGRAKDC targeting domain joined to an all-D-amino-acid D(KLAKLAK)2 proapoptotic sequence with a C-terminal amide. Assembling two chemically distinct domains, forming the disulfide correctly, and handling the D-residues make it demanding to synthesize and purify cleanly.

## FAQs

### What is Adipotide?

Adipotide (FTPP) is a fat-targeting proapoptotic peptide that kills the blood vessels supplying white fat, developed at MD Anderson and studied for obesity in animals.

### How does it work?

A targeting sequence (CKGGRAKDC) homes to prohibitin on the vasculature of fat tissue and delivers a proapoptotic peptide that triggers those blood vessels to die — starving the fat rather than suppressing appetite.

### Why was its development stopped?

Clinical development was discontinued (around 2019) because of kidney toxicity — the peptide accumulates in the kidney and the safe dose window proved too narrow. It is not approved.

### Is Adipotide approved?

No — it is a preclinical research compound, discontinued in clinical development and not FDA-approved. This page is a research and educational reference.

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Source: AmericanPeptide.com — https://americanpeptide.com/catalog/adipotide
Data license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Attribution: AmericanPeptide.com.
Research reference only — computational and educational content, not medical advice.