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Updated: May 9, 2026

Hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic Clamps in Conscious, Unrestrained Mice
Published on: November 16, 2011
A depot-forming glucagon-like peptide-1 fusion protein reduces blood glucose for five days with a single injection
M Amiram1, K M Luginbuhl1, X Li1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham 27708, USA.
Abstract:
Peptide drugs are an exciting class of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of a variety of diseases; however, their short half-life dictates multiple and frequent injections causing undesirable side effects. Herein, we describe a novel peptide delivery system that seeks to combine the attractive features of prolonged circulation time with a prolonged release formulation. This system consists of glucagon-like peptide-1, a type-2 diabetes drug fused to a thermally responsive, elastin-like-polypeptide (ELP) that undergoes a soluble-insoluble phase transition between room temperature and body temperature, thereby forming an injectable depot. We synthesized a set of GLP-1-ELP fusions and verified their proteolytic stability and potency in vitro. Significantly, a single injection of depot forming GLP-1-ELP fusions reduced blood glucose levels in mice for up to 5 days, 120 times longer than an injection of the native peptide. These findings demonstrate the unique advantages of using ELPs to release peptide-ELP fusions from a depot combined with enhanced systemic circulation to create a tunable peptide delivery system.
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