How a tiny change makes a diabetes hormone last longer and work better
Comparative effects of GLP-1 and GIP on cAMP production, insulin secretion, and in vivo antidiabetic actions following substitution of Ala8/Ala2 with 2-aminobutyric acid.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists tweaked two blood-sugar hormones to make them last longer in the body. One tweak—changing a single building block in GLP-1—made it super strong and long-lasting.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
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Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists tweaked two blood-sugar hormones to make them last longer in the body. One tweak—changing a single building block in GLP-1—made it super strong and long-lasting.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 512 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Publication
Authors
Green BD, Gault VA, Flatt PR, Harriott P, Greer B, O'Harte FP
Related Content
Claims (6)
GLP-1 and GIP are hormones that increase insulin production and decrease glucagon production when nutrients are consumed, which helps control blood glucose levels.
A modified version of the GIP hormone, with a change at position 2, produces a weaker insulin response than the natural form, indicating that this change interferes with how the hormone activates its receptor, even though it makes the hormone more resistant to breakdown.
Replacing one specific amino acid in the GLP-1 hormone with a modified version prevents it from breaking down quickly in human blood, allowing it to last more than 12 hours instead of 6–7 hours like the natural version, which may improve its usefulness as a treatment.
In mice with obesity and diabetes, a modified version of the hormone GLP-1 called (Abu8)GLP-1 lowers blood sugar and increases insulin production more than two other related hormones, suggesting this chemical change improves its ability to act against diabetes in living organisms.
A specific chemical change at position 8 in the GLP-1 hormone increases its ability to activate adenylate cyclase and trigger insulin release in laboratory cell systems more than a similar change at position 2 in the GIP hormone, suggesting that the location of modifications influences how these hormones interact with their receptors.