Bioconjug Chem 2018 Feb 21;292:390-402. doi: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.7b00712.

Preparation and Pharmaceutical Characterizations of Lipidated Dimeric Xenopus Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Conjugates.

???displayArticle.abstract???
A pair of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogs (1 and 2) were synthesized by hybridizing the key sequences of GLP-1, exendin-4, lixisenatide, and xenGLP-1B (Xenopus GLP-1 analog). To achieve long-acting hypoglycemic effects and to further improve their anti-diabetic potencies, lipidization and dimerization strategies were used to afford two lipidated dimeric conjugates (9 and 11). Conjugates 9 and 11 showed stronger receptor activation potency than GLP-1 and exendin-4 in vitro. Moreover, 9 and 11 exhibited superior hypoglycemic and insulinotropic activities to liraglutide in type 2 diabetic C57BL/6J-m+/+ Leprdb (db/db) mice. Pharmacokinetic studies revealed that the circulating half-lives (t1/2) of 9 and 11 were 2.3- and 1.7-fold longer than that of liraglutide. The improved pharmacokinetic profiles led to significantly protracted in vivo anti-diabetic effects as confirmed by multiple oral glucose tolerance tests and hypoglycemic duration tests. Most importantly, chronic treatment studies found that once daily administration of 9 or 11 in db/db mice achieved more beneficial effects on HbA1c reduction and glucose tolerance normalization than liraglutide. Our research demonstrated lipidization and dimerization as useful tools for the development of novel GLP-1 receptor agonists. The preclinical studies suggested the potential of 9 and 11 to be developed as novel anti-diabetic agents.

???displayArticle.pubmedLink??? 29239601
???displayArticle.link??? Bioconjug Chem


Species referenced: Xenopus
Genes referenced: gcg glp1r
GO keywords: glucagon binding