Type 2 diabetes mellitus remains a critical global health challenge, driving the pursuit of novel therapeutic strategies. This study investigated the anti-diabetic efficacy of the peptide 1CBR, derived from sodium caseinate hydrolysate, administered orally at 25 mg/kg/day to db/db mice over a 4-week period. Glucose tolerance was evaluated via oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT), while plasma dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) activity, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), and insulin concentrations were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Two bioactive peptides, GPFPLPD and APDSGNFR, were isolated and characterized, exhibiting half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of 99.12 µM and 73.07 µM for DPP-IV inhibition, respectively, and both significantly stimulated GLP-1 secretion in enteroendocrine cells in vitro. Pharmacokinetic analysis in Sprague–Dawley rats demonstrated oral bioavailability of 11.28% and 19.12% for these peptides, surpassing typical expectations for peptide-based agents. Collectively, these results provide compelling evidence that 1CBR-derived peptides exert glucose-lowering effects through the dual mechanisms of DPP-IV inhibition and GLP-1 stimulation, combined with favorable oral absorption profiles. These findings underscore the potential of 1CBR peptides as promising candidates for development into nutraceuticals or pharmaceutical agents for diabetes management.
1 December 2021 in The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry
Dietary protein hydrolysates were evaluated as β-secretase (BACE1) inhibitors using integrated in silico, in vitro, and computational approaches. From 888 protein–enzyme combinations screened via BIOPEP-UWM, Met-containing peptide frequency (FP-M) best correlated with BACE1 inhibition (r = 0.59, p = 0.021) among 15 experimentally validated hydrolysates. LC-MS/MS confirmed 17 predicted peptide sequences from the hydrolysates. Multi-site molecular docking against four BACE1 binding sites (−8.33 to −2.88 kcal/mol) and enzyme kinetics of 10 selected peptides revealed three co-existing inhibition mechanisms: competitive (Ki = 21.2–72.0 μM, active site), mixed-type (Ki = 25.2–155.2 μM, flap/extended groove), and non-competitive (Ki = 70.4–90.8 μM, extended groove), with strong concordance between predicted binding sites and kinetic mechanisms. Molecular dynamics simulations (700 ns) confirmed mechanism-dependent binding stability; notably, the mixed-type inhibitor ENY exhibited site-dependent stability providing atomic-level evidence for dual-mode inhibition. This study establishes a validated pipeline for discovering multi-mechanism dietary BACE1 inhibitory peptides for Alzheimer's disease prevention.
Inadequate choline intake-induced choline metabolic stress (CMS) has been divergently linked to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), yet underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesized that CMS modifies plasma-free amino acid (PFAA) signatures to influence MASLD risk. In a nested case–control study of 125 participants, dietary choline intake and blood choline metabolites were assessed together with targeted metabolomics and transcriptomic profiling. MASLD was characterized by low choline intake, reduced plasma betaine/choline ratio (Pbcr), elevated homocysteine, increased branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), and depleted serine/glycine, achieving strong predictive accuracy (AUC = 0.90). CMS was associated with reduced lymphocytic transcripts involved in BCAA catabolism and altered mTORC1/Akt/IRS1 signaling. Nonlinear Pbcr- and intake-dependent MASLD risk patterns were attenuated after adjustment for genetic–metabolite networks. These findings identify CMS-responsive metabolic mediators supporting precision choline interventions.