Fluorescent GLP1R/GIPR dual agonist probes reveal cell targets in the pancreas and brain
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Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Dual agonists targeting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP1R) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor (GIPR) are breakthrough treatments for patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity. Compared to GLP1R agonists, dual agonists show superior efficacy for glucose lowering and weight reduction. However, delineation of dual agonist cell targets remains challenging. Here, we develop and test daLUXendin and daLUXendin+, non-lipidated and lipidated fluorescent GLP1R/GIPR dual agonist probes, and use them to visualize cellular targets. daLUXendins are potent GLP1R/GIPR dual agonists that advantageously show less functional selectivity for mouse GLP1R over mouse GIPR. daLUXendins label rodent and human pancreatic islet cells, with a signal intensity of β cells > α cells = δ cells. Systemic administration of daLUXendin strongly labels GLP1R+ and GIPR+ neurons in circumventricular organs characterized by an incomplete blood–brain barrier but does not penetrate the brain beyond labelling seen with single (ant)agonists. At the single-molecule level, daLUXendin targets endogenous GLP1R–GIPR nanodomains, which differ in organization and composition from those targeted by a single agonist. daLUXendins reveal dual agonist targets in the pancreas and brain and exclude a role for brain penetration in determining the superior efficacy of dual agonists, shedding new light on different modes of action of dual agonists versus single agonists.
Date Issued
2025-08-01
Date Acceptance
2025-06-24
Citation
Nature Metabolism, 2025, 7 (8), pp.1536-1549
ISSN
2522-5812
Publisher
Nature Research
Start Page
1536
End Page
1549
Journal / Book Title
Nature Metabolism
Volume
7
Issue
8
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2025 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/40830598
PII: 10.1038/s42255-025-01342-6
Subjects
CRYO-EM STRUCTURE
Endocrinology & Metabolism
EXPRESSION
GASTRIC-INHIBITORY POLYPEPTIDE
GLP-1 RECEPTOR
GLUCAGON-LIKE PEPTIDE-1
IN-VITRO
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
LIRAGLUTIDE
Science & Technology
SURFACE
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
Germany
Date Publish Online
2025-08-19