PBI-4547 Prevents Progression of Prediabetic Condition to Type 1 Diabetes in NOD Mice

Introduction: PBI-4547 is a novel orally active compound that is being developed for potential clinical use in patients suffering from metabolic and inflammatory/fibrosis-related diseases. This study examined the effect of PBI-4547 in NOD mice, a model of type 1 diabetes. Our objective was to demonstrate the efficacy of PBI-4547 to stop the progression of diabetes in mice exhibiting prediabetic glucose escalation.

Methods: NOD/ShiLtJ female mice (8 weeks of age) were followed up to the appearance of the first sign of hyperglycemia (three consecutive weeks of glucose increase (over 7 mmol/l). Once identified as prediabetic, mice were randomly allocated to control (receiving vehicle (water)) or PBI-4547 (25 mg/kg/day) groups for treatment by daily gastric gavage for 8 to 12 weeks.

Results: Mice treated with vehicle (n=9) evolved to a moderate to severe diabetic condition (glucose levels 11.7-37 mmol/l). Most of these vehicle-treated mice (6/9) survived only a few weeks after the onset of the prediabetic condition. At the opposite, NOD mice treated with PBI-4547 all showed a reversal of their hyperglycemia and none of the observed animals (n=12) evolved to a chronic hyperglycemia (over 11 mmol/l). Survival was also significantly improved in the group treated with PBI-4547 with 8 of 12 mice surviving more than 10 weeks after the onset of treatment. Analysis of insulinemia showed a significant difference between both groups. Immunohistological analysis of pancreas recovered at euthanasia revealed a significant reduction in islet inflammatory cell infiltration. Moreover, NOD mice treated with PBI-4547 maintained normoglycemia despite a reduced number of islets. In fact, PBI-4547 reduced by 30% the number of severely damaged islets.

Conclusions: These data suggest that PBI-4547 could preclude the evolution of diabetes in a type 1 model.