Published online Aug 15, 2018. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v9.i8.138
Peer-review started: June 4, 2018
First decision: June 14, 2018
Revised: June 20, 2018
Accepted: June 28, 2018
Article in press: June 28, 2018
Published online: August 15, 2018
Processing time: 73 Days and 1.1 Hours
Recently, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists have become a cornerstone for the treatment of obese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), exhibiting favorable effects on the cardiovascular outcome. In T2D, impaired GLP-1 secretion/function is observed, and gut microbiota dysbiosis is related to the GLP-1 resistance. Prior research has revealed that exercise increases GLP-1 levels in healthy and obese individuals; however, the efficacy of exercise on GLP-1 levels in patients with T2D remains unclear. Exercise may improve GLP-1 resistance rather than GLP-1 secretion in patients with T2D. Exercise increases the gut microbiota diversity, which could contribute to improving the GLP-1 resistance of T2D. Furthermore, the gut microbiota may play a role in the correlation between exercise and GLP-1. The combination of exercise and GLP-1-based therapy may have a synergistic effect on the treatment of T2D. Although the underlying mechanism remains unknown, exercise potentiates the efficacy of GLP-1 receptor agonist treatment in patients with T2D.
Core tip: The impact of exercise on glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) remains unclear. Exercise could potentiate the effect of GLP-1 receptor agonists treatment and play a vital role in ameliorating GLP-1 resistance by improving gut microbiota dysbiosis and reducing the ectopic fat in patients with T2D.