Amylin, Another Important Neuroendocrine Hormone for the Treatment of Diabesity

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a devastating chronic metabolic disease. Since the majority of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients are overweight or obese, a novel term—diabesity—has emerged. The gut–brain axis plays a critical function in maintaining glucose and energy homeostasis and involves a variety of peptides. Amylin is a neuroendocrine anorexigenic polypeptide hormone, which is co-secreted with insulin from β-cells of the pancreas in response to food consumption. Aside from its effect on glucose homeostasis, amylin inhibits homeostatic and hedonic feeding, induces satiety, and decreases body weight. In this narrative review, we summarized the current evidence and ongoing studies on the mechanism of action, clinical pharmacology, and applications of amylin and its analogs, pramlintide and cagrilintide, in the field of diabetology, endocrinology, and metabolism disorders, such as obesity.