Abstract: The invention provides effective analogs of the active GLP-1 peptides, 7-34, 7-35, 7-36, and 7-37, which have improved characteristics for treatment of diabetes Type II. These analogs have amino acid substitutions at positions 7-10 and/or are truncated at the C-terminus and/or contain various other amino acid substitutions in the basic peptide. The analogs may either have an enhanced capacity to stimulate insulin production as compared to glucagon or may exhibit enhanced stability in plasma as compared to GLP-1 (7-37) or both. Either of these properties will enhance the potency of the analog as a therapeutic. Analogs having D-amino acid substitutions in the 7 and 8 positions and/or N-alkylated or N-acylated amino acids in the 7 position are particularly resistant to degradation in vivo.

Abstract: A method of producing a purified lipid-binding peptide which can bind to phospholipids at one or more amphipatic alpha-helical peptide regions. The method includes providing a gene coding for the peptide, and introducing the gene in expressible, heterologous form in a suitable expression system capable of synthesizing a mixture of peptides which includes the lipid-binding peptide. Addition of either endogenous or exogenous lipids to the peptide mixture forms a low-density lipopeptide complex composed of lipid and the lipid-binding peptide, and this complex can be separated easily from nonlipid-binding peptides in the peptide on the basis of its size and/or density. The method is intended particularly for scaled-up production of purified human apolipoproteins and their alpha-helical lipid-binding regions. Also disclosed are related methods for producing recombinant apolipoproteins, therapeutic lipopeptide compositions, and a stabilized lipid emulsion for nutritional therapy.