Engineering of a Potent, Long-Acting NPY2R Agonist for Combination with a GLP-1R Agonist as a Multi-Hormonal Treatment for Obesity

J Med Chem. 2020 Sep 10;63(17):9660-9671. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c00740. Epub 2020 Aug 26.

Abstract

Bariatric surgery results in increased intestinal secretion of hormones GLP-1 and anorexigenic PYY, which is believed to contribute to the clinical efficacy associated with the procedure. This observation raises the question whether combination treatment with gut hormone analogs might recapitulate the efficacy and mitigate the significant risks associated with surgery. Despite PYY demonstrating excellent efficacy and safety profiles with regard to food intake reduction, weight loss, and glucose control in preclinical animal models, PYY-based therapeutic development remains challenging given a low serum stability and half-life for the native peptide. Here, combined peptide stapling and PEG-fatty acid conjugation affords potent PYY analogs with >14 h rat half-lives, which are expected to translate into a human half-life suitable for once-weekly dosing. Excellent efficacy in glucose control, food intake reduction, and weight loss for lead candidate 22 in combination with our previously reported long-acting GLP-1 analog is demonstrated in a diet-induced obesity mouse model.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Body Weight / drug effects
  • Drug Interactions
  • Eating / drug effects
  • Engineering*
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor / agonists*
  • Half-Life
  • Models, Molecular
  • Obesity / drug therapy*
  • Peptide YY / chemistry*
  • Peptide YY / pharmacokinetics
  • Peptide YY / pharmacology*
  • Polyethylene Glycols / chemistry
  • Protein Conformation
  • Rats
  • Receptors, Neuropeptide Y / agonists*

Substances

  • Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor
  • Receptors, Neuropeptide Y
  • neuropeptide Y2 receptor
  • Peptide YY
  • Polyethylene Glycols