Discovery of Feeding Regulatory Peptides and The Importance of Peptide Discovery Research

Bioactive peptides consist of multiple linked amino acids that are secreted from cells and act on specific receptors in order to transmit information from one cell to another. Through signal transduction, bioactive peptides regulate various physiological functions in the body, and the discovery of new bioactive peptides is therefore likely to lead to the development of various diagnostic and therapeutic agents. In this article, we have focused on the bioactive peptides that are known as feeding regulatory peptides. They are among the bioactive peptides discovered as ligands for G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), and we have reviewed their diverse functions. In addition, the status of structural analysis of GPCRs, which is necessary in the drug discovery process, and research on orphan GPCRs, for which new ligands are expected to be discovered in the future, is introduced to systematize modern peptide research and discuss future developments in bioactive peptide research.