Amelioration of insulin resistance in genetically obese rodents by M16209, a new antidiabetic agent.

Improvement of metabolic disorders by M16209 (1-(3-bromobenzofuran-2-ylsulfonyl)hydantoin), an antidiabetic agent, was studied in genetically obese Zucker fa/fa rats and C57BL/6J ob/ob mice. In fa/fa rats oral administration of M16209 (30 and 100 mg/kg/day) for 7 days dose dependently improved hyperinsulinemia without affecting body weight. Oral glucose loading (2 g glucose/kg body weight) after 10 days of administration to fa/fa rats revealed that M16209 significantly improved glucose tolerance both 30 and 60 min after glucose loading, but did not affect preload serum glucose levels. At one day after 13 days of administration of M16209, the serum levels of triglyceride, total cholesterol and free fatty acid were clearly lower in treated fa/fa rats than those in untreated rats. In C57BL/6J ob/ob mice, M16209 given for 28 days at doses of 30 and 100 mg/kg/day improved hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia and hypercholesterolemia without affecting body weight. In a hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp study in fa/fa rats, administration of M16209 for 7 days at a dose of 100 mg/kg/day significantly normalized the decreased metabolic clearance rate but did not show any effect on the augmented hepatic glucose output. These findings demonstrate that improvement of metabolic disorders in genetically obese rodents by M16209 is due to amelioration of insulin resistance in peripheral tissues.