Design of Novel Exendin-Based Dual Glucagon-like Peptide 1 (GLP-1)/Glucagon Receptor Agonists.

Dual activation of the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and glucagon receptor has the potential to lead to a novel therapy principle for the treatment of diabesity. Here, we report a series of novel peptides with dual activity on these receptors that were discovered by rational design. On the basis of sequence analysis and structure-based design, structural elements of glucagon were engineered into the selective GLP-1 receptor agonist exendin-4, resulting in hybrid peptides with potent dual GLP-1/glucagon receptor activity. Detailed structure-activity relationship data are shown. Further modifications with unnatural and modified amino acids resulted in novel metabolically stable peptides that demonstrated a significant dose-dependent decrease in blood glucose in chronic studies in diabetic db/db mice and reduced body weight in diet-induced obese (DIO) mice. Structural analysis by NMR spectroscopy confirmed that the peptides maintain an exendin-4-like structure with its characteristic tryptophan-cage fold motif that is responsible for favorable chemical and physical stability.

Citation

Andreas Evers, Torsten Haack, Martin Lorenz, Martin Bossart, Ralf Elvert, Bernd Henkel, Siegfried Stengelin, Michael Kurz, Maike Glien, Angela Dudda, Katrin Lorenz, Dieter Kadereit, Michael Wagner. Design of Novel Exendin-Based Dual Glucagon-like Peptide 1 (GLP-1)/Glucagon Receptor Agonists. Journal of medicinal chemistry. 2017 May 25;60(10):4293-4303

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PMID: 28448133

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