[Free fatty acid receptors and their physiological role in metabolic regulation]

Yakugaku Zasshi. 2011;131(12):1683-9. doi: 10.1248/yakushi.131.1683.
[Article in Japanese]

Abstract

Free fatty acids (FFAs) are not only essential nutrient components, but they also function as signaling molecules in various physiological processes. In the progression of genomic analysis, many orphan G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are found. Recently, GPCRs deorphanizing strategy successfully identified multiple receptors for FFAs. In these FFA receptors (FFARs), GPR40 (FFAR1) and GPR120 are activated by medium- to long- chain FFAs. GPR40 is expressed mainly in pancreatic β-cell and mediates insulin secretion, whereas GPR120 is expressed abundantly in the intestine and regulates the secretion of cholecystokinin (CCK) and glucagons-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), it promotes insulin secretion. Due to these biological activity, GPR40 and GPR120 are potential drug target for type 2 diabetes and selective ligands have been developed. In this review, we provide recent development in the field and discuss their physiological roles and their potential as drug targets.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cholecystokinin / metabolism
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / drug therapy
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / etiology
  • Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / physiology
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Insulin / metabolism
  • Insulin Secretion
  • Insulin-Secreting Cells / metabolism
  • Intestinal Mucosa / metabolism
  • Ligands
  • Mice
  • Molecular Targeted Therapy
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / metabolism
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / physiology*
  • Signal Transduction
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • FFAR1 protein, human
  • FFAR4 protein, human
  • Fatty Acids, Nonesterified
  • Insulin
  • Ligands
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide 1
  • Cholecystokinin