Open AccessReview
Incretin Hormones and Type 2 Diabetes—Mechanistic Insights and Therapeutic Approaches
by
1,2
and 1,2,*
1
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
2
NNF Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 26 November 2020
/
Revised: 9 December 2020
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Accepted: 10 December 2020
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Published: 16 December 2020
Simple Summary
When we ingest a meal, our intestine secretes hormones that are released into the bloodstream. Amongst these hormones are the incretins hormones which stimulate the release of insulin from the pancreas which is essential for the regulation of in particular postprandial glucose concentrations. In patients with type 2 diabetes, the effect of the incretins is diminished. This is thought to contribute importantly to the pathophysiology of the disease. However, in pharmacological amounts, the incretins may still influence insulin secretion and metabolism. Much research has therefore been devoted to the development of incretin-based therapies for type 2 diabetes. These therapies include compounds that strongly resemble the incretins, hereby stimulating their effects as well as inhibitors of the enzymatic degradation of the hormones, thereby increasing the concentration of incretins in the blood. Both therapeutic approaches have been implemented successfully, but research is still ongoing aimed at the development of further optimized therapies.