Skip to main content
The Egyptian Journal of Internal Medicine
Download PDF

Study of the serum level of fasting glucagon-like peptide-1 in type 2 diabetics and its relation to the glycemic profile

The Egyptian Journal of Internal Medicine volume 30, pages 54–57 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a peptide formed of 30 amino acids. It is synthesized in and released from the enteroendocrine L cells that are present throughout the small and the large intestine. Because of the important physiological role of GLP-1 in augmenting insulin secretion, it is generally believed that GLP-1 release is deficient in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.

However, studies in adults have yielded conflicting results showing decreased, normal, or increased GLP-1 concentrations in prediabetics or T2DM after oral glucose or mixed meal.

The aim of this work was to study the level of fasting total GLP-1 in T2DM patients and its relation to the glycemic profile.

Patients and methods

This study included 60 T2DM patients and 40 participants matched for age and sex as a control group, selected from the inpatient and outpatient clinics of the Internal Medicine Department in Menoufia University Hospital. After obtaining their informed consent, all participants were subjected to a full assessment of history and physical examination with estimation of BMI, insulin resistance with homeostasis model assessment-2, and investigations including fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycated hemoglobin (HbAIc), and the total fasting levels of GLP-1.

Results

There was no significant difference in the level of GLP-1 between T2DM patients and the controls. There were significant negative correlations between the fasting total GLP-1 and FBG, HbAIc, serum insulin, and homeostasis model assessment-2 in both the total sample and the T2DM patients.

Conclusion

Fasting total levels of GLP-1 are not reduced in T2DM patients and are negatively correlated with FBG, HbAIc, and insulin resistance.

References

  1. Ahrén B. Incretin dysfunction in type 2 diabetes: clinical impact and future perspectives. Diabetes Metab 2013; 39:195–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Alssema M, Rijkelijkhuizen JM, Holst JJ, Teerlink T, Scheffer PG, Eekhoff EM, et al. Preserved GLP-1 and exaggerated GIP secretion in type 2 diabetes and relationships with triglycerides and ALT. Eur J Endocrinol 2013; 169:421–430

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Yabe D, Kuroe A, Lee S, Watanabe K, Hyo T, Hishizawa M, et al. Little enhancement of meal-induced glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion in Japanese: comparison of type-2 diabetes patients and healthy controls. J Diabetes Investig 2010; 1:56–59.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Lastya A, Saraswati MR, Suastika K. The low level of glucagon-like peptide-1 (glp-1) is a risk factor of type 2 diabetes mellitus. BMC Res Notes2014; 7:849.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Campbell JE, Drucker DJ. Pharmacology, physiology, and mechanisms of incretin hormone action. Cell Metab 2013; 17:819–837.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Deacon CF, Ahrén B. Physiology of incretins in health and disease. Rev Diabet Stud 2011; 8:293–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Nauck MA, Meier JJ. The incretin effect in healthy individuals and those with type 2 diabetes: physiology, pathophysiology, and response to therapeutic interventions. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2016; 4:525–536.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Calanna S, Christensen M, Holst JJ, Laferrère B, Gluud LL, Vilsbøll T, et al. Secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: systematic review and meta-analyses of clinical studies. Diabetologia 2013; 56:965–972.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. De Luis DA, Aller R, Conde R, Primo D, Izaola O, Castro MJ, et al. Basal glucagonlike peptide 1 levels and metabolic syndrome in obese patients. J Investig Med 2012; 60:874–877.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Zhang F, Tang X, Cao H, Lü Q, Li N, Liu Y, et al. Impaired secretion of total glucagon-like peptide-1 in people with impaired fasting glucose combined impaired glucose tolerance. Int J Med Sci 2012; 9:574–581.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Vander Stouwe JG, Aeschbacher S, Krisai P, Schoen T, Meyre P, Todd J, et al. Plasma levels of glucagon-like peptide 1 and markers of obesity among young and healthy adults. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 2015; 83: 636–642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Vilsbøll T, Krarup T, Madsbad S, Holst JJ. Both GLP-1 and GIP are insulinotropic at basal and postprandial glucose levels and contribute nearly equally to the incretin effect of a meal in healthy subjects. Regul Pept 2003; 114:115–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Umeda LM, Silva EA, Carneiro G, Arasaki CH, Geloneze B, Zanella MT, et al. Early improvement in glycemic control after bariatric surgery and its relationships with insulin, GLP-1, and glucagon secretion in type 2 diabetic patients. Obes Surg 2011; 21:896–901.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Yamaoka-Tojo M, Tojo T, Takahira N, Matsunaga A, Aoyama N, Masuda T, et al. Elevated circulating levels of an incretin hormone, glucagon-like peptide-1, are associated with metabolic components in high-risk patients with cardiovascular disease. Cardiovasc Diabetol 2010; 9:17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Sista F, Abruzzese V, Clementi M, Carandina S, Amicucci G. Effect of resected gastric volume on ghrelin and GLP-1 plasma levels: a prospective study. J Gastrointest Surg 2016; 20:1931–1941.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Hattori A, Kawamura I, Yamada Y, Kanamori H, Aoyama T, Ushikoshi H, et al. Elevated plasma GLP-1 levels and enhanced expression of cardiac GLP-1 receptors as markers of left ventricular systolic dysfunction: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open 2013; 3:e003201.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Hare KJ, Vilsbøll T, Asmar M, Deacon CF, Knop FK, Holst JJ, et al. The glucagonostatic and insulinotropic effects of glucagon-like peptide 1 contribute equally to its glucose-lowering action. Diabetes 2010; 59: 1765–1770.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Wang XL, Ye F, Li J, Zhu LY, Feng G, Chang XY, et al. Impaired secretion of glucagon-like peptide 1 during oral glucose tolerance test in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus. Saudi Med J 2016; 37:48–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Yabe D, Watanabe K, Sugawara K, Kuwata H, Kitamoto Y, Sugizaki K, et al. Comparison of incretin immunoassays with or without plasma extraction: incretin secretion in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes. J Diabetes Investig 2012; 3:70–79.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, 90 Fawzi Moaz Street, 21648, Smoha, Alexandria, Egypt

    Mohamed A. Korani

  2. Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Egypt

    Ahmed Sonbol

Authors
  1. Mohamed A. Korani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ahmed Sonbol
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohamed A. Korani.

Additional information

This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

Rights and permissions

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Korani, M.A., Sonbol, A. Study of the serum level of fasting glucagon-like peptide-1 in type 2 diabetics and its relation to the glycemic profile. Egypt J Intern Med 30, 54–57 (2018). https://doi.org/10.4103/ejim.ejim_76_17

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/ejim.ejim_76_17

Keywords