Frontiers in Endocrinology (Sep 2022)

Therapeutic potential of vasoactive intestinal peptide and its receptor VPAC2 in type 2 diabetes

  • Xintong Hou,
  • Xintong Hou,
  • Dan Yang,
  • Dan Yang,
  • Guimei Yang,
  • Guimei Yang,
  • Mengnan Li,
  • Mengnan Li,
  • Jian Zhang,
  • Jian Zhang,
  • Jiaxin Zhang,
  • Jiaxin Zhang,
  • Yi Zhang,
  • Yunfeng Liu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2022.984198
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

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Owing to the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes, the development of novel hypoglycemic drugs has become a research hotspot, with the ultimate goal of developing therapeutic drugs that stimulate glucose-induced insulin secretion without inducing hypoglycemia. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a 28-amino-acid peptide, can stimulate glucose-dependent insulin secretion, particularly by binding to VPAC2 receptors. VIP also promotes islet β-cell proliferation through the forkhead box M1 pathway, but the specific molecular mechanism remains to be studied. The clinical application of VIP is limited because of its short half-life and wide distribution in the human body. Based on the binding properties of VIP and VPAC2 receptors, VPAC2-selective agonists have been developed to serve as novel hypoglycemic drugs. This review summarizes the physiological significance of VIP in glucose homeostasis and the potential therapeutic value of VPAC2-selective agonists in type 2 diabetes.

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