GLP 1 receptor agonists

Last edited 02/2020 and last reviewed 11/2022

• first antidiabetic medication based on the incretin hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) was approved in 2005 (exenatide) as an adjunctive therapy in diabetic patients in whom sulphonylurea, metformin or both had failed
• since exenatide, there has been the introduction of subsequent incretin mimetics in the UK. Liraglutide is available to prescribe as a once daily preparation. There is also available a once weekly preparation of exenatide; as well as the other once weekly incretin mimetics - dulaglutide and semaglutide.
  
  
  • the ability of GLP-1 to enhance pancreatic ß-cell mass could delay progression of the disease - however, only several years of treatment in humans will confirm the long-term efficacy of GLP-1 mimetics and enhancers on glycemic control
  • gastrointestinal glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) are 'incretin hormones' released from the gut after a meal and are responsible for 70% of postprandial insulin secretion
    • a 31 amino acid peptide - GLP-1 is cleaved from proglucagon in L-cells in the GI-tract (and neurons in hindbrain/hypothalamus)
    • secreted in response to meal ingestion (direct luminal and indirect neuronal stimulation)
    • there is impairment of GLP-1 secretion and GIP action in diabetic patients - incretin effect is decreased to 30%
    • GLP-1 stimulates insulin secretion, glucose-dependently
    • GLP-1 decreases glucagon secretion, glucose-dependently
    • delays gastric emptying, decreases food intake and body weight
    • GLP-1 can enhance pancreatic ß-cell mass through the stimulation of ß-cell proliferation and neogenesis in healthy and diabetic rodents
    • GIP
      • has a similar insulinotropic effect to GLP-1 at glucose concentrations between 5.5 mM and 7.8 mM
      • GIP does not suppress glucagon secretion, and its effects on feeding behavior, if any, are unknown
    • collectively, these characteristics render GLP-1 more attractive than GIP as a target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes
      • GLP-1 is rapidly degraded by dipeptidylpeptidase IV (DPPIV)
        • therefore two approaches to utilization of the incretin effect were undertaken:
          • development of GLP-1 analogues (GLP-1 mimetics) resistant to degradation by DPPIV or the development of DPPIV inhibitors
            
  • GLP-1 analogues (GLP-1 mimetics)
    • lead to delayed gastric emptying, body weight loss
    • circulating concentrations of GLP-1 that induce nausea can be reached after subcutaneous injection of GLP-1 mimetics, but are not seen with DPPIV inhibitors
    • GLP-1 mimetics, which slow gastric emptying, might not only reduce the extent and rate of absorption of nutrients but also that of orally administered drugs - therefore be used with caution in patients receiving oral medications that require rapid gastrointestinal absorption and threshold concentrations for efficacy
    • main advantage of GLP-1 mimetics is their induction of weight loss, in addition to improvements in glycaemic control
      
      
  • Cardiovascular endpoints and GLP-1 mimetics:
• regulatory guidance specifies the need to establish cardiovascular safety of new diabetes therapies in patients with type 2 diabetes in order to rule out excess cardiovascular risk. The cardiovascular safety of GLP-1 mimetics has therefore been investigated in formal clinical trials. Of note is that there is evidence of cardiovascular benefit with treatment with liraglutide (LEADER), dulaglutide (REWIND) and semaglutide (SUSTAIN-6). See linked items for details.

Notes:

• pancreatitis and renal failure
  • there have been reports of necrotising and haemorrhagic pancreatitis in people taking exenatide some of which were fatal - stop exenatide treatment if pancreatitis is diagnosed (2)
    
    
• GLP-1 receptor agonists: reports of diabetic ketoacidosis when concomitant insulin was rapidly reduced or discontinued (3)
  • diabetic ketoacidosis has been reported in patients with type 2 diabetes on a combination of a GLP-1 receptor agonist and insulin who had doses of concomitant insulin rapidly reduced or discontinued. GLP-1 receptor agonists are not substitutes for insulin, and any reduction of insulin should be done in a stepwise manner with careful glucose self-monitoring. Abrupt discontinuation or reduction in insulin doses can lead to poor glycaemic control, with a risk of diabetic ketoacidosis.

Reference:

1. Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2006 Dec;6(6):598-605.
2. MHRA (December 2014). Exenatide: risk of severe pancreatitis and renal failure
3. MHRA (June 2019). GLP-1 receptor agonists: reports of diabetic ketoacidosis when concomitant insulin was rapidly reduced or discontinued