The Do Lab recently published their work “α-CGRP disrupts amylin fibrillization and regulates insulin secretion: implications on diabetes and migraine” in Chemical Science.
Amber Gray and Aleksandra Antevska, graduate students, share first authorship on this piece.
Despite being relatively benign and not an indicative signature of toxicity, fibril formation and fibrillar structures continue to be key factors in assessing the structure–function relationship in protein aggregation diseases. The inability to capture molecular cross-talk among key players at the tissue level before fibril formation greatly accounts for the missing link toward the development of an efficacious therapeutic intervention for Type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
This research shows that human α-calcitonin gene-related peptide (α-CGRP) remodeled amylin fibrillization. Furthermore, while CGRP and/or amylin monomers reduce the secretion of both mouse Ins1 and Ins2 proteins, CGRP oligomers have a reverse effect on Ins1. Genetically reduced Ins2, the orthologous version of human insulin, has been shown to enhance insulin sensitivity and extend the life-span in old female mice.
Beyond the mechanistic insights, their data suggest that CGRP regulates insulin secretion and lowers the risk of T2DM. Our result rationalizes how migraine might be protective against T2DM. They envision the new paradigm of CGRP : amylin interactions as a pivotal aspect for T2DM diagnostics and therapeutics. Maintaining a low level of amylin while increasing the level of CGRP could become a viable approach toward T2DM prevention and treatment.
