5-Amino-1MQ: The Tiny Molecule That Blocks a Fat-Cell Enzyme

Deep inside your fat cells works a tiny machine called NNMT. In 2014, scientists found that turning it down in mice kept them from getting fat on a rich diet.

So a team in Galveston, Texas, looked for a small molecule that could block it. One of the strongest was 5-amino-1MQ. In obese mice, it trimmed weight and fat. Yet the mice ate about the same amount of food.

What it is

5-amino-1MQ is not a peptide. A peptide is a short chain of amino acids, like a bead bracelet. New to this? Start with what a peptide is.

5-amino-1MQ is one small, lab-made molecule. Think of it as a single tiny charm, not a bracelet.

It earns a spot here because it works on cell energy, like many peptides we cover.

Its target, NNMT, is an enzyme. An enzyme is a tiny machine that changes other molecules. NNMT is most plentiful in fat and the liver.

What it does in the body

Cells need a helper called NAD+ to turn food into energy. They build NAD+ from vitamin B3. They also reuse B3 to make more.

Think of a recycling line. Bits of B3 ride along and get rebuilt into NAD+. NNMT pulls bits off the line and tags them, so they leave the line.

To make each tag, NNMT also uses up a second helper, called SAM.

NNMT has a pocket shaped for B3. 5-amino-1MQ fits into that pocket. Like gum in a keyhole, it stops NNMT from grabbing B3.

In obese mice, fat tissue holds more NNMT than usual. That made it an exciting target.

What scientists have found

In cells: In fat cells in a dish, 5-amino-1MQ cut the tagged B3 that NNMT makes. Levels of NAD+ and SAM went up.

Young fat cells also stored less fat, up to 70% less. In tests, it left several related enzymes alone.

In muscle cells in a dish, it helped young cells grow into mature muscle cells.

In animals: The 2018 study used 18 obese male mice on a high-fat diet. Half got 5-amino-1MQ for 11 days. They lost about 5% of their body weight. The untreated mice gained a little over 1%.

Both groups ate about the same amount. In treated mice, a main fat pad weighed about 35% less. Their fat cells were over 30% smaller.

A 2024 study lasted about a month. Obese mice given more of it gained far less weight and fat, yet ate about the same. Their lean mass, the non-fat part, held steady. They handled sugar better, and their livers held less fat.

Old mice add a fun twist. NNMT builds up in muscle with age.

In 2019, two-year-old mice got a planned injury to one leg muscle. With 5-amino-1MQ, their muscle stem cells, the repair crew, were busier. Regrown fibers were nearly twice the size. The muscle was about 70% stronger than in untreated old mice.

In a 2024 study, 35 old female mice took part for eight weeks. Treated mice that did not exercise had about 40% stronger grip than untreated ones. A weighted running wheel alone gave 20%. Both together gave 60%.

In people: No human studies of 5-amino-1MQ have been published yet. A 2024 review found no documented clinical trials aimed at NNMT.

People do offer a clue. In 199 people having belly surgery, the NNMT gene in fat was about twice as active in those with type 2 diabetes. In 60 people, a 12-week exercise plan went with a less active NNMT gene in fat.