Overview

• Researchers developed biochemical and pharmacological methods that, for the first time, define how candidate agonists act at each of the three amylin receptors.
• The receptors share a common core but differ by accessory subunits, a distinction that could be targeted to maximize efficacy and limit side effects.
• Experiments show agonists can pull accessory subunits together or push them apart, altering signaling in ways relevant to drug performance.
• Lead author Sandra Gostynska created the laboratory procedure central to the findings under senior author Augen Pioszak at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.
• The tools are intended for preclinical use by companies pursuing amylin-based obesity therapies, with no clinical outcomes reported from these methods yet.