Experimental Diabetes Research

Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 768760, 1 page

doi:10.1155/2012/768760

Editorial

Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 and Diabetes 2012

Matteo Monami,¹ Giovanni Di Pasquale,² Anna Rowzee,² Carlo Maria Rotella,³ and Edoardo Mannucci⁴

¹Section of Geriatric Cardiology and Medicine, Careggi Teaching Hospital, Via delle Oblate 4, 50141 Florence, Italy

²National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

³Obesity Agency, Careggi Teaching Hospital, Florence, Italy

⁴Diabetes Agency, Careggi Teaching Hospital, Florence, Italy

Received 21 November 2012; Accepted 21 November 2012

Copyright © 2012 Matteo Monami et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The present special issue was aimed at elucidating the role and the effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in type 2 diabetes. GLP-1 is a gastrointestinal hormone, mainly secreted after meals, capable of increasing glucose-stimulated insulin release and inhibits food intake. The physiological activity of this hormone has been demonstrated to be impaired in obese subjects and in patients with type 2 diabetes in comparison with healthy subjects.

Available data suggest that GLP-1 plays a relevant role in the regulation of postprandial glucose metabolism in physiologic conditions. Several new drugs act through the GLP-1 signaling system to stimulate insulin release and regulate blood glucose levels in patients with diabetes. Therefore, a special issue exploring the physiological properties of GLP-1 and the possible applications in several clinical settings is particularly warranted.

This special issue is composed of 5 articles: two mechanistic studies and three systematic reviews and meta-analyses, exploring GLP-1-induced signaling mechanisms and molecular identification and cloning of the GLP-1 receptor. The reviews and meta-analyses are focused on the promising beneficial extraglycaemic effects of the incretin-based therapy, including those on lipid profile and cardiovascular risk.

Matteo Monami

Giovanni Di Pasquale

Anna Rowzee

Carlo Maria Rotella

Edoardo Mannucci