Jiayu Liao, Assistant Professor of Bioenginering at the University of California, Riverside, has been instrumental in the discovery of a small molecule that will lead to the development of an obesity and diabetes pill.
The molecule, dubbed as Boc5 (discovered from the collaboration between Liao at UC Riverside's Bourns College of Engineering and a team in the National Center for Drug Screening, Shanghai, China), has been found to control diabetes in mice models and is the first small molecule activator for Class B GPCRs (hormone regulator in many human physiological processes).
…Boc5, can stimulate insulin function in response to high levels of glucose as well as reduce body weight by 20 percent. The discovery of this molecule that stimulates the production of the intestinal hormone glucagon-like peptide1 (GLP1), which metabolizes glucose, has been an extremely difficult goal for researchers in both academics and the pharmaceutical industry.The discovery (reported in article that appeared in the January 16 issue of The Proceedings of National Academies of Science) has opened new revenue possibilities to support future research into small molecule interaction with Class B GPCRs.
The fact that the molecule also lowered appetite and promoted weight loss in mice holds out the promise it may fuel more exploration of orally available insulin sensitizing drugs that can be used to control diabetes and obesity.
Find more details from the full report.
[Photo Credit: Silimaryn]
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