Amylin: A Multi‐Functional Pancreatic Hormone—A Review

ABSTRACT

Amylin is a pancreatic beta‐cell hormone that sits at a systems hub connecting key aspects of energy metabolism. Amylin physiologically controls satiation, slows gastric emptying and limits postprandial glucagon release, while its actions also link homeostatic eating controls with reward driven behaviours via defined central nervous system pathways. Further, at least under certain conditions, aggregating amylin exerts a strong pathophysiological impact on the destruction of pancreatic beta‐cells in Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), providing a plausible explanation for why a T2D‐like disease entity is only observed in a few mammalian species. This review will provide a brief summary of selected aspects of our current understanding of the biology of amylin and outlines how this knowledge has recently been translated into effective pharmacotherapy for obesity and diabetes, including long‐acting analogs combination approaches with other peptide hormones.