RESEARCH ARTICLE
Amylin Analogues in the Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus: Medicinal Chemistry and Structural Basis of its Function
Ernest Adeghate*, 1, Huba Kalász2
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2011Volume: 5
Issue: Suppl 2
First Page: 78
Last Page: 81
Publisher ID: TOMCJ-5-78
DOI: 10.2174/1874104501105010078
Article History:
Received Date: 10/1/2011Revision Received Date: 20/2/2011
Acceptance Date: 25/2/2011
Electronic publication date: 9/9/2011
Collection year: 2011
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Amylin, (islet amyloid polypeptide) or diabetes-associated peptide is co-secreted with insulin in the islet of Langerhans of diabetic patients in approximately 1:100, amylin-insulin ratio. The soluble form of amylin, an analogue of amylin, is used as a supplement to insulin in the treatment of type 1 diabetes. Co-administration of amylin analogue with insulin to patients with type 1 diabetes induced a larger reduction in proprandial hyperglycemia, with a concomitant reduction in the level of glucagon when compared to insulin monotherapy. The actions of amylin analogues appear to be synergistic to insulin, with which it is co-released from insulin-producing beta cells after a meal. Amylin analogues such as pramlintide has been shown to significantly reduce body weight, HbA1c values and even the dosage of insulin. A moderate weight loss can also be achieved in obese patients with or without diabetes. A major side effect of some amylin analogues includes nausea and excitation of the area postrema. This review examines the medicinal chemistry of amylin and its analogues and their effects.
