Targeting of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R), expressed on the surface of pancreatic β-cells, is of great interest for the development of advanced therapies for diabetes and diagnostics for insulinoma. We report the conjugation of exendin-4 (Ex-4), an approved drug to treat type 2 diabetes, to poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) to obtain more stable and effective GLP-1R ligands. Exendin-4 modified at Lysine-27 with PEG4-maleimide was conjugated to γ-PGA functionalized with furan, in different molar ratios, exploiting a chemoselective Diels-Alder cycloaddition. The γ-PGA presenting the highest number of conjugated Ex-4 molecules (average 120 per polymeric chain) showed a double affinity towards GLP-1R with respect to exendin per se, paving the way to improved therapeutic and diagnostic applications.
Rossi, L., Kerekes, K., Kovacs-Kocsi, J., Korhegyi, Z., Bodnar, M., Fazekas, E., et al. (2022). Multivalent γ-PGA-Exendin-4 Conjugates to Target Pancreatic β-Cells. CHEMBIOCHEM, 23(17) [10.1002/cbic.202200196].
Multivalent γ-PGA-Exendin-4 Conjugates to Target Pancreatic β-Cells
Rossi L.;Pignatelli C.;Nicotra F.;Russo L.
2022
Abstract
Targeting of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R), expressed on the surface of pancreatic β-cells, is of great interest for the development of advanced therapies for diabetes and diagnostics for insulinoma. We report the conjugation of exendin-4 (Ex-4), an approved drug to treat type 2 diabetes, to poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) to obtain more stable and effective GLP-1R ligands. Exendin-4 modified at Lysine-27 with PEG4-maleimide was conjugated to γ-PGA functionalized with furan, in different molar ratios, exploiting a chemoselective Diels-Alder cycloaddition. The γ-PGA presenting the highest number of conjugated Ex-4 molecules (average 120 per polymeric chain) showed a double affinity towards GLP-1R with respect to exendin per se, paving the way to improved therapeutic and diagnostic applications.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.