title: Liraglutide suppresses the plasma levels of active and des-acyl ghrelin independently of active glucagon-like Peptide-1 levels in mice.
abstract: Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), an insulinotropic gastrointestinal peptide that is primarily produced by intestinal endocrine L-cells, stimulates satiety. Ghrelin, a hormone that is produced predominantly by the stomach stimulates hunger. There are two forms of ghrelin: active ghrelin and inactive des-acyl ghrelin. After depriving mice of food for 24 h, we demonstrated that the systemic administration of liraglutide (100  μ g/kg), a human GLP-1 analog that binds to the GLP-1 receptor, increased (1.4-fold) the plasma levels of active GLP-1 and suppressed the plasma levels of active and des-acyl ghrelin after 1 h. Despite the elevated plasma levels of active GLP-1 (11-fold), liraglutide had no effect on the plasma levels of active or des-acyl ghrelin after 12 h. These findings demonstrated that liraglutide suppresses the plasma levels of active and des-acyl ghrelin independently of active GLP-1 levels in fasted mice, suggesting a novel in vivo biological effect of liraglutide beyond regulating plasma GLP-1.
authors.affiliation: Department of Lifestyle Medicine, Translational Research Center, Tohoku University Hospital, 1-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8574, Japan.
authors.forename: Katsunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nonogaki
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki