title: Substituted 2-oxiranecarboxylic acids: a new group of candidate hypoglycaemic drugs.
abstract: Drugs to treat diabetes that can be taken orally have long been sought, although the successful management of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus by simple chemotherapy may be an unachievable goal. The only drugs currently used for the treatment of non-insulin-dependent diabetes have limited effectiveness. In this article Peter Selby and Stanley Sherratt describe the development of a new group of candidate hypoglycaemic drugs, esters of substituted 2-oxiranecarboxylic acids, which merit full clinical evaluation. These drugs are hydrolysed to the free acids which are then converted to their coenzyme A esters in cells. The CoA esters inactivate carnitine palmitoyltransferase I in the outer mitochondrial membrane, thus preventing the excessive oxidation of long-chain fatty acids that occurs in diabetes. This causes a secondary decrease in hepatic gluconeogenesis and an increase in peripheral glucose utilization leading to improved glucose tolerance.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Selby
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Sherratt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002264:Carboxylic Acids / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy; D005027:Ethylene Oxide / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D002264:Carboxylic Acids; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D005027:Ethylene Oxide