Molecular discovery by BBSRC researchers may lead to a new drug class for type 2 diabetes

Scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have harnessed a novel drug-discovery tool to identify a new molecule involved in the body’s insulin secretion process, a finding which could lead to a new drug class for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

The team has used this novel method to identify a small molecule that they are using to help them to understand how insulin is secreted in response to increases in blood sugar. The molecule, termed Ned-19, was found after information about the natural chemical, NAADP, was entered into the computer system and cross-referenced with the ZINC database. Using Ned-19 in experiments, the researchers have discovered that NAADP has a crucial part to play in insulin secretion, and may represent a new target for diabetes drugs.
The method used by the team begins with the natural chemical and uses computers to identify corresponding small molecules for research and medicine. This avoids the lengthy and costly process of systematically modifying the natural chemical’s structure, which is a proven technique that has previously been used to produce antihistamines and beta-blockers. The main difference between the established and the novel technique is that the researchers have linked computational methods that are commonly used by pharmaceutical companies to a freely available database (ZINC) containing five million existing compounds.
The cheap and efficient method of drug discovery utilised by the researchers is expected to enable small academic laboratories to search a large database of drugs to find treatments for diabetes, along with many other diseases.