This technology features a pharmaceutical composition for the prevention and treatment of diabetes, and a food composition for prevention and improvement, containing a short peptide of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2 derived from the adipokine LGI3 protein secreted by adipose tissue. The same peptide is also designed to target diabetes-related metabolic disorders, including hyperglycemia, liver and pancreatic damage, and blood lipid abnormalities.
Existing diabetes treatments—such as insulin, insulin sensitizers, insulin secretagogues, and GLP-1 derivatives—have limitations, including restricted use depending on the patient group and side effects like hypoglycemia, weight gain, gastrointestinal disorders, and liver or heart toxicity upon long-term use. Furthermore, they often fail to prevent pancreatic damage and the worsening of insulin resistance. LGI3 itself is a large protein of approximately 60 kDa consisting of 548 amino acids, making it difficult to apply directly to the human body.
Instead of the full LGI3 protein, this technology uses only the active short sequences as synthetic peptides, facilitating easier manufacturing and administration. It is designed as a composition to improve insulin resistance in patients with type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. It works by lowering body weight and blood glucose levels without suppressing appetite, while also improving pancreatic damage, liver function markers, and blood lipid profiles. Applicable to the development of next-generation peptide-based diabetes treatments, health functional foods for blood glucose management, and lead compounds for metabolic disease drugs, it offers a new therapeutic option that achieves both blood glucose control and pancreatic protection without the burden of hypoglycemia or weight gain.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT for research on the in vivo activity control of the cytokine LGI3.
US12667602B2, WO2021-006607A1
