PuSH - Publication Server of Helmholtz Zentrum München: Estrogenic activity of E2-conjugated GLP-1 is mediated by intracellular endolysosomal acidification and estrone metabolism.

Information

Clues to quality of journals

Open Access Policy of Helmholtz Association 2016

CC Licencences

Publication Metrics

Navigation

Home

Deutsch

EVA: Electronic Publishing

New EVA Application

Research

Advanced Search

Browse by ...

... HMGU-Authors/Consortia

... Organizational Structure

... Journal

... Publication Type

... Research Data

... Arbeitsgruppen

... Publication Year

Publication overview

Statistics

Statistics (last 5 years)

OA Publications

Publish

Submit Publication

Import publication from...

...EVA

Report missing publication

Highlights

Support & Contact

Contact persons

Help

Data protection

Helmholtz Open Science

JANE Journal Estimator

SHERPA/RoMEO

DOAJ

Export:

Text

Endnote (RIS) BIB

BibTeX

Coupland, C. ; Sun, N. ; Khalil, A. ; Karaoglu, Ö.E. ; Liskiewicz, A. ; Liskiewicz, D. ; Grandl, G. ; Akindehin, S.E. ; Maity-Kumar, G. ; Yang, B.* ; Finan, B.* ; Knerr, P.J.* ; Douros, J.D.* ; Walch, A.K. ; DiMarchi, R.* ; Tschöp, M.H. ; Müller, T.D. ; Novikoff, A.

Estrogenic activity of E2-conjugated GLP-1 is mediated by intracellular endolysosomal acidification and estrone metabolism.

Mol. Metab. 96:102136 (2025)

Publ. Version/Full Text

DOI

PMC

	Open Access Gold

Abstract
Metrics
Extra information

Recent modifications to glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), known for its insulinotropic and satiety-inducing effects, have focused on conjugating small molecules to enable selective delivery into GLP-1R⁺ tissues to achieve targeted synergy and improved metabolic outcomes. Despite continued advancements in GLP-1/small molecule conjugate strategies, the intracellular mechanisms facilitating concurrent GLP-1R signaling and small molecule cargo release remain poorly understood. We evaluate an estradiol (E2)-conjugated GLP-1 (GLP-1-CEX/E2) for relative differences in GLP-1R signaling and trafficking, and elucidate endolysosomal dynamics that lead to estrogenic activity using various live-cell, reporter, imaging, and mass-spectrometry techniques. We find GLP-1-CEX/E2 does not differentially activate or traffic the GLP-1R relative to its unconjugated GLP-1 backbone (GLP-1-CEX), but uniquely internalizes the E2 moiety and stimulates estrogenic signaling. Endolysosomal pH-dependent proteolytic activity likely mediates E2 moiety liberation, as evidenced by clear amplification in estrogenic activity following co-administration with lysosomal VATPase activator EN6. The hypothesized liberated metabolite from GLP-1-CEX/E2, E2-3-ether, exhibits partial estrogenic efficacy through ERα, and is predisposed toward estrone-3-sulfate conversion. Finally, we identify relative increases in intracellular E2, estrone, and estrone-3-sulfate following GLP-1-CEX/E2 incubation in GLP-1R⁺ cells, demonstrating proof-of-principle for desired cargo release. Together, our data suggest that GLP-1-CEX/E2 depends on GLP-1R trafficking and lysosome acidification for estrogenic efficacy, with a likely conversion of the liberated E2-3-ether metabolite into estrone-3-sulfate, resulting in residual downstream flux into active estradiol. Our current findings aim to improve the understanding of small molecule targeting and the efficacy behind GLP-1/small molecule conjugates.

Impact Factor

Scopus SNIP

Altmetric

6.600

0.000