GLP-1 receptor agonists
Activating GLP-1 receptors, raising insulin and curbing appetite.
Also called GLP-1 agonists and GLP-1 analogues.
Class card
- Drugs
- Semaglutide and Liraglutide
- Used for
- Type 2 diabetes
- Weight management in obesity or overweight
- Cutting heart attack and stroke risk in heart disease
- Slowing kidney decline in type 2 diabetes
- Known for
- Nausea
- Inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis)
- Thyroid C-cell tumors in rodents (human risk unknown)
- Name stems
- -glutide
3 cards: the class, and each drug in it.
Mechanism of action
How do GLP-1 receptor agonists work?
GLP-1 receptor agonists activate the receptor for glucagon-like peptide-1, a Gs-coupled receptor that raises cAMP in beta cells. Insulin release rises and glucagon falls only when glucose is high, the stomach empties more slowly, and receptors in the brain cut appetite, so glucose and body weight fall. Unlike natural GLP-1, which DPP-4 inactivates within minutes, they resist breakdown and last hours to days.
The drugs
GLP-1 receptor agonists with a card
Uses
What are GLP-1 receptor agonists used for?
- Type 2 diabetes
- Weight management in obesity or overweight
- Cutting heart attack and stroke risk in heart disease
- Slowing kidney decline in type 2 diabetes
Side effects
Side effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists
- NauseaKnown for
- Inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis)Known forSerious
- Thyroid C-cell tumors in rodents (human risk unknown)Known forSerious
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Weight loss
- Gallstones and gallbladder inflammationSerious
- Kidney injury from dehydrationSerious
- Faster resting heart rate
- Hypoglycemia with insulin or a sulfonylurea
What the class has in common. Each drug's card has its own, and Known for marks what an exam expects you to know.
Watch for
Cautions
- Contraindicated if the person or a close relative has had medullary thyroid cancer, and in MEN 2.
- Stop if pancreatitis is suspected; not recommended in severe gastroparesis.
- Tell the anesthetist before surgery: slowed stomach emptying raises the risk of aspiration.
- A lower insulin or sulfonylurea dose may be needed to avoid hypoglycemia.
Remember them
A way to remember them
GLP-1 agonists put the brakes on the stomach.
Slower stomach emptying and a fuller feeling cut appetite and weight, and the same effect explains the nausea and vomiting and the risk of aspiration under anesthesia.
Written for biofideX
Name stems
-glutide means GLP analogue (mostly GLP-1 agonists)
Semaglutide, liraglutide and dulaglutide are GLP-1 receptor agonists; WHO files the stem under -tide (peptides). Exenatide and lixisenatide end in -enatide instead.
- Every drug name stem
Don't mix them up
Classes easily confused with these
Sources
Checked against
Written for biofideX in plain words, after checking these references:
- Semaglutide injection (diabetes): label (DailyMed)
- Liraglutide injection (diabetes): label (DailyMed)
- Liraglutide injection (weight management): label (DailyMed)
- Semaglutide (NHS)
- Semaglutide (NCI Thesaurus)
For learning pharmacology, not for treatment decisions: no doses are given, and a prescriber, pharmacist or the product's own label is the word on any one patient. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll correct it.
Diabetes
Practice GLP-1 receptor agonists with the other classes in this group: what each drug is, how it works, what it treats and what it's known for.
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