NEW ERA IN DIABETES AND OBESITY TREATMENT - THE EFFECTS OF GLP-1R, GIPR AND GCGR TRIAGONISTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31435/ijitss.3(51).2026.6156Keywords:
Triple Receptor Agonists, GLP-1, GIP, Obesity Management, Weight LossAbstract
Background: In recent years, the number of people affected by obesity or diabetes has increased dramatically. This growing prevalence resulted in an intensified interest in new methods to fight this problem. More and more drugs have emerged on the pharmaceutical market such as next-generation triagonists targeting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1R), glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIPR), and glucagon (GCGR) receptors.
Aim of the study: This article reviews the information about the effects of GLP-1R, GIPR, GCCR with particular emphasis on it being an obesity treatment, as well as the mechanisms, safety and potential therapeutic effect.
Scope of review: The goal of this review was to gather knowledge about the effect of GLP-1R, GIPR and GCGR triagonists in preexperimental and clinical studies.
Results: In experimental models triagonists successfully restricted weight gain and prevented hyperglycemia through promoting energy use and thermogenesis via the GCGR component. Triagonist NN1706 has shown to induce dose-dependent weight loss in early stages of clinical trials, however they also triggered specific adverse effects such as second degree atrioventricular blocks. In contrast, Retratrutide has shown an unprecedented clinical efficacy in phase 2 trials. After 48 weekends of a 12 mg dosage there was a 24.2% mean body weight reduction, a result comparable to bariatric surgery. Moreover 72% of prediabetic patients reverted to normoglycemia. Across all cohorts the most common adverse effects were gastrointestinal symptoms and temporary heart rate elevations.
Conclusion: GLP-1R/GIPR/GCGR triagonists represent a significant shift in obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) management. Their effect extend beyond simple appetite suppression to accelerate
Their synergism extends beyond simple appetite inhibition for example to increase lipid metabolism, reduce fatty liver disease and accelerate energy expenditure. Clinical implementation will depend on confirming long-term safety in patients ongoing the stage 3 trials.
Further research is crucial to ensure the safety of this therapeutic option and confirm these findings.
References
Davies, M. J., Aroda, V. R., Collins, B. S., Gabbay, R. A., Green, J., Maruthur, N. M., . . . Buse, J. B. (2022). Management of hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetes, 2022: A consensus report by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). Diabetologia, 65(12), 1925–1966.
Nauck, M. A., Quast, D. R., Wefers, J., & Meier, J. J. (2021). GLP-1 receptor agonists in the treatment of type 2 diabetes—State-of-the-art. Molecular Metabolism, 46, Article 101102.
Aroda, V. R., & Ratner, R. E. (2018). Metformin and type 2 diabetes prevention. Diabetes Spectrum, 31(4), 336–342.
Nauck, M. (2016). Incretin therapies: Highlighting common features and differences in the modes of action of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 18(3), 203–216.
Jakubowska, A., le Roux, C. W., & Viljoen, A. (2024). The road towards triple agonists: Glucagon-like peptide 1, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and glucagon receptor—An update. Endocrinology and Metabolism, 39(1), 12–22.
Ramracheya, R., Chapman, C., Chibalina, M., Dou, H., Miranda, C., González, A., . . . Briant, L. J. (2018). GLP-1 suppresses glucagon secretion in human pancreatic alpha-cells by inhibition of P/Q-type Ca²⁺ channels. Physiological Reports, 6(17), Article e13852.
Rudovich, N., Kaiser, S., Engeli, S., Osterhoff, M., Gögebakan, Ö., Blüher, M., & Pfeiffer, A. F. (2007). GIP receptor mRNA expression in different fat tissue depots in postmenopausal non-diabetic women. Regulatory Peptides, 142(3), 138–145.
Hayes, M. R., Borner, T., & De Jonghe, B. C. (2021). The role of GIP in the regulation of GLP-1 satiety and nausea. Diabetes, 70(9), 1956–1961.
Nason, S. R., Kim, T., Antipenko, J. P., Finan, B., DiMarchi, R., Hunter, C. S., & Habegger, K. M. (2020). Glucagon-receptor signaling reverses hepatic steatosis independent of leptin receptor expression. Endocrinology, 161(1), Article bqz013.
Ruze, R., Liu, T., Zou, X., Song, J., Chen, Y., Xu, R., . . . Xu, Q. (2023). Obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus: Connections in epidemiology, pathogenesis, and treatments. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 14, Article 1161521.
Wu, Y., Chan, A. Y., Hauke, J., Htin Aung, O., Foollee, A., Cleofe, M. A. S., Stölting, H., Han, M. L., Jeppe, K. J., Barlow, C. K., Okun, J. G., Rusu, P. M., & Rose, A. J. (2024). Variable glucagon metabolic actions in diverse mouse models of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Molecular Metabolism, 90, Article 102064. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2024.102064
Finan, B., Yang, B., Ottaway, N., Smiley, D. L., Ma, T., Clemmensen, C., . . . Tschöp, M. H. (2015). A rationally designed monomeric peptide triagonist corrects obesity and diabetes in rodents. Nature Medicine, 21(1), 27–36.
Finan, B., Douros, J. D., Goldwater, R., Hansen, A. M. K., Hjerpsted, J. B., Hjøllund, K. R., Kankam, M. K., Knerr, P. J., Konkar, A., Mowery, S. A., Müller, T. D., Nielsen, J. R., Nygård, S. B., Perez-Tilve, D., Raun, K., Yang, B., Tschöp, M. H., & DiMarchi, R. D. (2025). A once-daily GLP-1/GIP/glucagon receptor tri-agonist (NN1706) lowers body weight in rodents, monkeys and humans. Molecular Metabolism, 96, Article 102129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2025.102129
Jastreboff, A. M., Kaplan, L. M., Frías, J. P., Wu, Q., Du, Y., Gurbuz, S., Coskun, T., Haupt, A., Milicevic, Z., Hartman, M. L., & Retatrutide Phase 2 Obesity Trial Investigators. (2023). Triple-hormone-receptor agonist retatrutide for obesity—A phase 2 trial. The New England Journal of Medicine, 389(6), 514–526. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2301972
Ahlkvist, L., Omar, B., Valeur, A., Fosgerau, K., & Ahrén, B. (2016). Defective insulin secretion by chronic glucagon receptor activation in glucose-intolerant mice. Journal of Endocrinology, 228, 171–178.
Conceição-Furber, E., Coskun, T., Sloop, K. W., & Samms, R. J. (2022). Is glucagon receptor activation the thermogenic solution for treating obesity? Frontiers in Endocrinology, 13, Article 868037.
Lorenz, M., Lawson, F., Owens, D., Raccah, D., Roy-Duval, C., Lehmann, A., . . . Blonde, L. (2017). Differential effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists on heart rate. Cardiovascular Diabetology, 16(1), Article 6.
Hanipah, Z. N., Rubino, F., & Schauer, P. R. (2023). Remission with an intervention: Is metabolic surgery the ultimate solution? Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics, 52(1), 65–88.
Wilding, J. P., Batterham, R. L., Calanna, S., Davies, M., Van Gaal, L. F., Lingvay, I., . . . Kushner, R. F. (2021). Once-weekly semaglutide in adults with overweight or obesity. The New England Journal of Medicine, 384(11), 989–1002.
Jastreboff, A. M., Aronne, L. J., Ahmad, N. N., Wharton, S., Connery, L., Alves, B., . . . Stefanski, A. (2022). Tirzepatide once weekly for the treatment of obesity. The New England Journal of Medicine, 387(3), 205–216.
Gorgojo-Martínez, J. J., Mezquita-Raya, P., Carretero-Gómez, J., Castro, A., Cebrián-Cuenca, A., de Torres-Sánchez, A., . . . Rubio-Herrera, M. Á. (2022). Clinical recommendations to manage gastrointestinal adverse events in patients treated with GLP-1 receptor agonists: A multidisciplinary expert consensus. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(1), Article 145.
Hayes, M. R., Borner, T., & De Jonghe, B. C. (2021). The role of GIP in the regulation of GLP-1 satiety and nausea. Diabetes, 70(9), 1956–1961. https://doi.org/10.2337/dbi21-0004
Nason, S. R., Kim, T., Antipenko, J. P., et al. (2020). Glucagon-receptor signaling reverses hepatic steatosis independent of leptin receptor expression. Endocrinology, 161(1), Article bqz013. https://doi.org/10.1210/endocr/bqz013
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Michał Duliński, Krzysztof K. Gofron, Kornelia Kaźmierkiewicz-Makanga, Weronika Spychalska, Emilia Piotrowicz, Filip Witowicz, Julia Glińska, Aleksandra Krawczyk, Wiktoria Waldon, Paulina Sumlet

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All articles are published in open-access and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Hence, authors retain copyright to the content of the articles.
CC BY 4.0 License allows content to be copied, adapted, displayed, distributed, re-published or otherwise re-used for any purpose including for adaptation and commercial use provided the content is attributed.

