Peptide drugs application in metabolic diseases and discovery strategies

Peptides (or polypeptides) are generally defined as those molecules compounded with less than 100 amino acids linked by peptide bonds, and the relative molecular weight is less than 10 000 Da usually. To date, more than 7 000 naturally peptides have been identified, and they play critical roles in mammalian pathophysiology. Peptide drugs are a unique kind of pharmaceutical compounds due to their different biochemical and therapeutic characteristics. This review will briefly introduce the application of peptide drugs in the treatment of common metabolic diseases and available discovery strategies for potential peptide drugs.