title: Glucagon-like peptide 1: continued advances, new targets and expanding promise as a model therapeutic.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This article discusses glucagon-like peptide 1 physiology and its various sites of action beyond the incretin effect and highlights recent findings (2005 and 2006).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Glucagon-like peptide 1 is a physiological incretin in humans and promotes insulin secretion after nutrient ingestion. It is secreted from intestinal L cells after meals and may be partially responsible for the improved glycemic control and weight loss after bariatric surgery. In vivo, glucagon-like peptide 1 is quickly degraded by dipetidyl peptidase IV to glucagon-like peptide 1(9-36), which has unclear physiologic activity. Glucagon-like peptide 1 and its specific receptor are also expressed in the brain, and central nervous system. Glucagon-like peptide 1 can reduce food intake, mediate toxic illness responses and control muscle and liver glucose disposal. In the heart, glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor activation improves cardiac hemodynamics in patients following angioplasty and has a beneficial effect on myocardial function in heart failure and postischemic animal models. Finally, glucagon-like peptide 1 augments islet mass and recent studies have identified cellular mechanisms by which glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor signaling affects this process.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Glucagon-like peptide 1 is emerging as a regulatory factor with a broad range of actions related to substrate and energy metabolism. With the recent development of medications based on glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor signaling for diabetes treatment, these new findings suggest the promise of further application of this system for the treatment of other conditions such as obesity and cardiovascular disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267, USA.
authors.forename: Benedikt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aulinger
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: D'Alessio
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D052216:Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D000067757:Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D018027:Receptors, Glucagon / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: C000593833:GLP1R protein, human; D000067757:Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor; D007328:Insulin; D018027:Receptors, Glucagon; D052216:Glucagon-Like Peptide 1