Neuromedin U (NMU) displays various physiological activities including an anorexigenic effect, and the
C-terminal heptapeptide-amide sequence is necessary to activate two NMU receptors (NMUR1 and NMUR2). Based on this heptapeptide, we recently developed highly active NMUR1 hexapeptide agonist
4d and NMUR2-selective hexapeptide agonist
8c. Moreover, we identified two major biodegradation sites (Phe
2-Arg
3 and Arg
5-Asn
6) by the stability analysis of
4d in serum. On the other hand, myostatin is an endogenous negative regulator of skeletal muscle mass, which is recognized as a therapeutic target for muscle atrophic disorders. Recently, we successfully identified myostatin inhibitory peptides
9 and
16 (24 and 23 amino acids, respectively) with minimum sequence derived from mouse myostatin prodomain. These peptides directly bind to myostatin with
KD values of 30-36 nM. Moreover, peptide
9 significantly increased tibialis anterior muscle mass in Duchenne muscular dystrophy model mice. Therefore, these synthesized peptides would be promising mid-sized molecules for peptide-based medicinal chemistry.
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