Project Grant R01DK148727

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases awarded $710,470 to The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center on August 1, 2026, for investigator-initiated biomedical research into prohormone convertase maturation and regulation under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847).

The funded research will characterize the structural basis for prohormone convertase 1/3 (PC1/3) activation; reveal how binding partners regulate the activity of PC1/3 and prohormone convertase 2 (PC2); and identify novel inhibitors of PC2 for potential use in glucose metabolism control. The work addresses mechanisms underlying obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic diseases by examining how two serine proteases that process precursor hormones are matured and regulated. Interventions that selectively inhibit PC2 while sparing PC1/3 could reduce glucagon production and enhance the efficacy of GLP-1 therapies.

The award runs from August 1, 2026, through May 31, 2031, with performance at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. The NIDDK program supports extramural basic and clinical biomedical research that improves understanding of disease mechanisms and leads to improved prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diabetes, digestive, endocrine, metabolic, and kidney diseases, with specific focus on fundamental studies relevant to metabolic disorders including hormone biosynthesis, secretion, metabolism, and binding.