Development of Novel Neuropeptide B/W Receptor 1 Agonists

NIH RePORTER · NIH · R03 · $214,589 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

Abstract G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a major family of targets for drug development; however, only a small number of GPCRs have successfully provided drugs on the market and many remain understudied for therapeutic applications. A lack of suitable tool compounds is a major obstacle to understand physiological functions of these understudied GPCRs. Neuropeptide B/W Receptor 1 (NPBWR1) has been suggested to hold great potential for several therapeutic applications, particularly for pain treatment based on its overexpression in patients' samples and in vivo studies using endogenous neuropeptides. Due to their metabolic instability and poor membrane permeability, these native neuropeptides require central administration, making them unsuitable for therapeutics development. Till date, no small molecule agonists have been discovered yet. Recognizing the unmet need to develop more stable and druglike tool compounds to facilitate research on this promising target, we propose to develop NPBWR1 agonists using a two-pronged approach, peptidomimetic design and repurposing opioid receptor ligands.

Key facts

NIH application ID
10047390
Project number
1R03TR003370-01
Recipient
RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE
Principal Investigator
Thuy Nguyen
Activity code
R03
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2020
Award amount
$214,589
Award type
1
Project period
2020-09-10 → 2022-07-31