An illustration of the glipizide drug molecule. Credit: LAGUNA DESIGN/ SPL/ GETTY IMAGES
A low-cost anti-diabetic drug glipizide could be repurposed to treat Huntington's disease, a crippling neurodegenerative condition1.
Though patients mostly between ages 30 to 50 develop symptoms of the common genetic disorder, it may also manifest in children and young adults. The disease is likely caused by alterations in the body’s insulin-signalling pathway and studies suggest stimulating this pathway could help treatment.
Researchers in the Department of Genetics at University of Delhi examined if existing drugs could be used to stimulate the insulin-signalling pathway. Glipizide fitted the bill as it prevents the formation of harmful clumps of proteins by increasing the activity of insulin in tissues affected by these clumps and improving the structure of the genetic material inside cells. They worked on fruit fly models since the insect’s insulin-signalling pathway is similar to that of humans. Researchers Surajit Sarkar and Shweta Tandon said they would validate the findings in mice and other mammalian models to clear the path for human clinical trials.
Glipizide is an FDA-approved second-generation sulfonylurea drug to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. It promotes insulin secretion from beta cells, thus improving the number of insulin receptors, and increasing sensitivity of peripheral tissues to insulin. As it conserves the insulin signalling pathway, the researchers say it can also be repurposed as an effective treatment strategy against some other neurodegenerative disorders.
