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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Measuring Relative Insulin Secretion using a Co-Secreted Luciferase Surrogate
Published on: June 25, 2019
Glucose concentration-dependent potentiation of insulin secretion by a new chemical entity, KCP256
Kiyotoshi Mori1, Kotaro Takasaki, Yoshimitsu Katoh
1Drug Discovery Research Laboratories, Pharmaceutical Research Center, Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd., 1188 Shimotogari, Nagaizumi-cho, Shizuoka, Japan. kiyotoshi.mori@kyowa.co.jp
Abstract:
The insulinotropic activity of KCP256 [(R)-8-benzyl-2-cyclopentyl-7, 8-dihydro-4-propyl-1H-imidazo[2,1-i]purin-5(4H)-one hydrochloride] was examined using MIN6 cells (a pancreatic beta-cell line) and pancreatic islets isolated from rats. Unlike sulfonylurea anti-diabetic drugs, KCP256 dose-dependently (0.1-10 microM) enhanced insulin secretion from MIN6 cells and its insulinotropic effect was exerted only at high concentrations of glucose (8.3-22 mM) but not at low concentrations of glucose (3.3-5.5 mM). Furthermore, the action mechanism of KCP256 was different because, unlike sulfonylurea drugs, KCP256 did not displace the binding of [3H]glibenclamide, and did not inhibit the 86Rb+ efflux nor K(ATP) channel activity. In isolated islets, KCP256 also enhanced insulin secretion in a dose- and a glucose-concentration-dependent manner. Plasma levels of insulin after glucose challenge in KCP256-administrated rats were higher than those in vehicle-administrated animals, indicating that KCP256 can enhance insulin secretion in vivo. Since the insulinotropic activity of KCP256 only occurs at high concentrations of glucose, this novel drug may exhibit a decreased risk of drug-induced hypoglycemia compared with sulfonylurea drugs when treating patients with diabetes.
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