glucagon-like peptide 1 (7-37)

Glucagon-like peptide 1 (7-37) is an endogenous 31-amino acid peptide hormone and a potent incretin. It is produced by the post-translational processing of proglucagon in the enteroendocrine L-cells of the distal small intestine and colon. The peptide acts as a high-affinity agonist of the glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R), primarily located on pancreatic beta cells, where it stimulates insulin secretion in a glucose-dependent manner. It also suppresses glucagon secretion from alpha cells, delays gastric emptying, and promotes satiety via central nervous system signaling. Although it was clinically evaluated for the treatment of type 2 diabetes under the name insulinotropin, its therapeutic utility was limited by an extremely short half-life (approximately 1.5 to 2 minutes) due to rapid degradation by the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4). This limitation led to the development of DPP-4-resistant GLP-1 receptor agonists such as exenatide and semaglutide.

Other names

GLP-1 (7-37)insulinotropinproglucagon (78-108)