4 min readUpdated: Jun 19, 2026 07:24 AM IST For decades, scientists have tried to lower harmful fats in the blood by targeting enzymes, genes or receptors involved in fat metabolism. Researchers at IIT Bombay have now taken a strikingly different approach: preventing fat from reaching the point inside liver cells from where it is released into the bloodstream. Working with scientists at IISER (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research) Pune and IISER Kolkata, the team has developed a tiny peptide (a short chain of amino acids or the building blocks of life) called KTDP that interrupts the movement of fat inside liver cells. In laboratory-grown liver cells and zebrafish, this reduced the release of cholesterol and triglycerides into the bloodstream by nearly 50 per cent. The findings, published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), are still at an early stage. The peptide has not been tested in humans. But researchers say the work opens an entirely new strategy for reducing the biggest risk factor of heart attacks, namely …