Diabetes has become one of the biggest hazards to human life and health, mainly type 2 diabetes (T2D). As we all know, the most typical feature of diabetes is an abnormal rise in blood sugar. Insulin is a natural hypoglycemic substance in the human body, while Glucagon is a hyperglycemic substance, the two checks and balances each other, regulating the balance of blood sugar in the body, when this balance is broken, there will be hyperglycemia
GLP-1 receptor agonists, also known as glucagon-like peptide receptor agonists, are relatively new hypoglycemic agents developed in recent years. GLP-1 in human body is a peptide hormone secreted by intestinal L cells. Its mechanism of action is to act on islet beta cells, promote the synthesis and secretion of insulin, stimulate the proliferation and differentiation of islet beta cells, inhibit the apoptosis of islet beta cells, and protect the function of islet.
In addition, it also has the effect of suppressing appetite and delaying gastric emptying, and through these effects, the effect of hypoglycemia is achieved. Because the GLP-1 produced in the human body is easily hydrolyzed by the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 in the body, the half-life is very short, less than 5 minutes. At present, there are two kinds of GLP-1 receptor agonists on the market, one is exenatide; The other is liraglutide.
These two drugs can not be hydrolyzed by the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 in the body, which greatly prolongates the action time, has the effect of hypoglycemic, protective islet function, and mild weight loss.