BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE PEPTIDE FRAGMENTS OF OB PROTEIBIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE PEPTIDE FRAGMENTS OF OB PROTEIN N

摘要

The present invention provides a protein fragment of the ob protein, being an active site of the protein. The active site is suitably provided by the ob protein when it is in the form of a four helix bundle structure, particularly that having an up-up down-down topology. In particular, the active site is formed from one or more amino acids selected from one or more of the four helices forming the secondary stucture of the ob protein, especially a protein fragment consisting of amino acid residues 26 to 39, 74 to 88, 93 to 113 or 142 to 161. The compounds of the invention arc considered to be capable of regulating the physiological activity of the ob protein and are therefor of potential use in the treatment of nutritional and metabollic disorders, particularly obesity and diabetes in the case of agonists and anorexia and cachexia in the case of antagonists.