The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7239 p328
8 March 2003

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Lead for diabetes treatments

Researchers from the pharmaceutical company Takeda Chemical Industries, in Japan, report a potential lead for new diabetes treatments.

The investigators discovered that a G-protein-coupled receptor, GPR40, which is "abundantly expressed" in the pancreas, functions as a receptor for long-chain free fatty acids (FFAs). Furthermore, the team showed that long-chain FFAs amplified glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic b cells by activating GPR40.

The researchers conclude that chemical entities that have specific action on GPR40 may lead the way to antidiabetic drugs with a novel mechanism of action, through controlling serum insulin level.

The study is published as an advance online publication available via the Nature website.