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Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is an endogenous insulinotropic peptide secreted from the gastrointestinal tract in response to food intake. It enhances pancreatic islet β-cell proliferation and glucose-dependent insulin secretion, and lowers blood glucose and food intake in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A long-acting GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1 R) agonist, exendin-4 (Ex-4), is the first of this new class of antihyperglycemia drugs approved to treat T2DM. GLP-1Rs are coupled to the cAMP second messenger pathway and, along with pancreatic cells, are expressed within the nervous system of rodents and humans, where receptor activation elicits neurotrophic actions. We detected GLP-1R mRNA expression in both cultured embryonic primary cerebral cortical and ventral mesencephalic (dopaminergic) neurons. These cells are vulnerable to hypoxia- and 6-hydroxydopamine-induced cell death, respectively. We found that GLP-1 and Ex-4 conferred protection in these cells, but not in cells from Glp1r knockout (-/-) mice. Administration of Ex-4 reduced brain damage and improved functional outcome in a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion stroke model. Ex-4 treatment also protected dopaminergic neurons against degeneration, preserved dopamine levels, and improved motor function in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) mouse model of Parkinson's disease (PD). Our findings demonstrate that Ex-4 can protect neurons against metabolic and oxidative insults, and they provide preclinical support for the therapeutic potential for Ex-4 in the treatment of stroke and PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE -- To verify what information from oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) independently predicts mortality. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -- A total of 1,401 initially nondiabetic participants from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging aged 17-95 years underwent one or more OGTTs (median 2, range 1-8), with insulin and glucose measurements taken every 20 min over the course of 2 h included in this study. Proportional hazards using the longitudinally collected data and Bayesian model averaging were used to examine the association of OGTT measurements individually and grouped with mortality, adjusting for covariates. RESULTS -- Participants were followed for a median 20.3 years (range 0.5-40). The first-hour OGTT glucose and insulin levels increased only modestly with age, whereas levels during the second hour increased 4% per decade. Individually, 100- and 120-min glucose measures and fasting and 100-min insulin levels were all independent predictors of mortality. When all measures were considered together, only higher 120-min glucose was a significant independent risk factor for mortality. CONCLUSION -- The steeper rise with age of the OGTT 2-h glucose values and the prognostic primacy of the 120-min glucose value for mortality is consistent with previous reports and suggests the value of using the OGTT in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) is a gastrointestinal hormone that has a potent stimulatory effect on insulin release under conditions of normal glucose tolerance. However, its insulinotropic effect is reduced or even absent entirely in type 2 diabetic patients. In this study, we addressed the role of glucose concentration in the diabetic range of ≥11 mM, i.e., hyperglycemia per se, as a cause of the lack of response to GIP. Culturing rat and human pancreatic islets in ≥11 mM glucose for up to 24 h resulted in prevention of GIP-mediated intracellular cAMP increase compared with culturing in 5 mM glucose. Western blot analysis revealed a selective 67 ± 2% (rat) and 60 ± 8% (human) decrease of GIP-R expression in islets exposed to ≥11 mM glucose compared with 5 mM glucose (P < 0.001). We further immunoprecipitated GIP-R from islets and found that GIP-R was targeted for ubiquitination in a glucose- and time-dependent manner. Downregulation of GIP-R was rescued by treating isolated islets with proteasomal inhibitors lactacystin and MG-132, and the islets were once again capable of increasing intracellular cAMP levels in response to GIP. These results suggest that the GIP-R is ubiquitated, resulting in downregulation of the actions of GIP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the insulinomimetic insulin-independent effects of glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 on glucose uptake in type 1 diabetic patients.Research Design and Methods: We used the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp (480 pmol. m(-2) x min(-1)) in paired randomized studies of six women and five men with type 1 diabetes. In the course of one of the paired studies, the subjects also received GLP-1 at a dose of 1.5 pmol. kg(-1) x min(-1). The patients were 41 +/- 3 years old with a BMI of 25 +/- 1 kg/m(2). The mean duration of diabetes was 23 +/- 3 years.Results: Plasma glucose was allowed to fall from a fasting level of approximately 11 mmol/l to 5.3 mmol/l in each study and thereafter was held stable at that level. Plasma insulin levels during both studies were approximately 900 pmol/l. Plasma C-peptide levels did not change during the studies. In the GLP-1 study, plasma total GLP-1 levels were elevated from the fasting level of 31 +/- 3 to 150 +/- 17 pmol/l. Plasma glucagon levels fell from the fasting levels of approximately 14 pmol/l to 9 pmol/l during both paired studies. Hepatic glucose production was suppressed during the glucose clamps in all studies. Glucose uptake was not different between the two studies ( approximately 40 micromol. kg(-1) x min(-1)).Conclusions: GLP-1 does not augment insulin-mediated glucose uptake in lean type 1 diabetic patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important cause of elevated glucose levels in elderly patients with diabetes is an alteration in non-insulin-mediated glucose uptake (NIMGU). Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is an intestinal insulinotropic hormone. It has been proposed that this hormone also lowers glucose levels by enhancing NIMGU. This study was conducted to determine whether GLP-1 augments NIMGU in elderly patients with diabetes, a group in which NIMGU is known to be impaired. Studies were conducted on 10 elderly patients with type 2 diabetes (aged 75 +/- 2 years, BMI 27 +/- 1 kg/m(2)) who underwent paired 240-min glucose clamp studies. In each study, octreotide was infused to suppress endogenous insulin release, and tritiated glucose methodology was used to measure glucose production and disposal rates. For the first 180 min, no glucose was infused. From 180 to 240 min, glucose was increased to 11 mmol/l using the glucose clamp protocol. In the GLP-1 study, GLP-1 was infused from 30 to 240 min. In a subsequent control study, insulin was infused using the glucose clamp protocol from 30 to 240 min to match the insulin levels that occurred during the GLP-1 infusion study. During hyperglycemia, GLP-1 enhanced glucose disposal (control study: 2.52 +/- 0.19 mg x kg(-1) x min(-1); GLP-1 study: 2.90 +/- 0.17 mg x kg(-1) x min(-1); P < 0.0001). Hepatic glucose output was not different between studies. We conclude that GLP-1 may partially reverse the defect in NIMGU that occurs in elderly patients with diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes resulting from heterozygosity for an inactivating mutation of the homeodomain transcription factor insulin promoter factor 1 (IPF-1) is due to a genetic defect of beta-cell function referred to as maturity-onset diabetes of the young 4. IPF-1 is required for the development of the pancreas and mediates glucose-responsive stimulation of insulin gene transcription. To quantitate islet cell responses in a family harboring a Pro63fsdelC mutation in IPF-1, we performed a five-step (1-h intervals) hyperglycemic clamp on seven heterozygous members (NM) and eight normal genotype members (NN). During the last 30 min of the fifth glucose step, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) was also infused (1.5 pmol x kg(-1) x min(-1)). Fasting plasma glucose levels were greater in the NM group than in the NN group (9.2 vs. 5.9 mmol/l, respectively; P < 0.05). Fasting insulin levels were similar in both groups (72 vs. 105 pmol/l for NN vs. NM, respectively). First-phase insulin and C-peptide responses were absent in individuals in the NM group, who had markedly attenuated insulin responses to glucose alone compared with the NN group. At a glucose level of 16.8 mmol/l above fasting level, GLP-1 augmented insulin secretion equivalently (fold increase) in both groups, but the insulin and C-peptide responses to GLP-1 were sevenfold less in the NM subjects than in the NN subjects. In both groups, glucagon levels fell during each glycemic plateau, and a further reduction occurred during the GLP-1 infusion. Sigmoidal dose-response curves of glucose clearance versus insulin levels during the hyperglycemic clamp in the two small groups showed both a left shift and a lower maximal response in the NM group compared with the NN group, which is consistent with an increased insulin sensitivity in the NM subjects. A sharp decline occurred in the dose-response curve for suppression of nonesterified fatty acids versus insulin levels in the NM group. We conclude that the Pro63fsdelC IPF-1 mutation is associated with a severe impairment of beta-cell sensitivity to glucose and an apparent increase in peripheral tissue sensitivity to insulin and is a genetically determined cause of beta-cell dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes is caused by a failure of the pancreas to produce insulin in amounts sufficient to meet the body's needs. A hallmark of diabetes is an absolute (type 1) or relative (type 2) reduction in the mass of pancreatic beta-cells that produce insulin. Mature beta-cells have a lifespan of approximately 48-56 days (rat) and are replaced by the replication of preexisting beta-cells and by the differentiation and proliferation of new beta-cells (neogenesis) derived from the pancreatic ducts. Here, we show that the insulinotropic hormone glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1, which is produced by the intestine, enhances the pancreatic expression of the homeodomain transcription factor IDX-1 that is critical for pancreas development and the transcriptional regulation of the insulin gene. Concomitantly, GLP-1 administered to diabetic mice stimulates insulin secretion and effectively lowers their blood sugar levels. GLP-1 also enhances beta-cell neogenesis and islet size. Thus, in addition to stimulating insulin secretion, GLP-1 stimulates the expression of the transcription factor IDX-1 while stimulating beta-cell neogenesis and may thereby be an effective treatment for diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]