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ForumsPharmacology & MechanismsGlucagon receptor signaling — anyone have experience?

Glucagon receptor signaling — anyone have experience?

AmyNC_wife Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 11:23 PM 50 replies 2,366 viewsPage 1 of 10
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AmyNC_wife
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Jul 11, 2025 at 11:23 PM#1

Following the glucagon co-agonists mostly for the liver endpoints rather than the weight ones, which seems to be the opposite of how they get discussed here.

What I am trying to establish is whether the liver signal is independent of weight loss or downstream of it, because that determines whether any of this is interesting for someone whose weight is already where they want it.

Numbers rather than impressions, if you have them.

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HPLC_Greg
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Jul 12, 2025 at 12:56 AM#2

This one has a reasonably settled answer, so here it is. The pharmacokinetics explain nearly every practical question asked here. Albumin binding above 99% slows clearance enough to make weekly dosing possible; a terminal half-life near a week means four to five weeks to steady state and therefore a four-week titration interval; subcutaneous bioavailability around 89% means injection site barely matters. Those three facts answer most timing questions before they are asked.

Last edited: Jul 12, 2025 at 6:56 AM
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VendorMark
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Jul 12, 2025 at 2:28 AM#3
HPLC_Greg said:
The pharmacokinetics explain nearly every practical question asked here.

Agreed, and the adaptation point cuts both ways: tachyphylaxis to gastric emptying is why tolerability improves, and it is also why people who were relying on physical fullness feel the effect fade while the appetite effect is still working.

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josh_phd_bmore
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Jul 12, 2025 at 4:01 AM#4
AmyNC_wife said:
Following the glucagon co-agonists mostly for the liver endpoints rather than the weight ones, which seems to be the opposite of how they get…

Same experience, arrived at from the opposite direction. The detail I would add is minor and it is already implied above.

Last edited: Jul 12, 2025 at 6:01 AM
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hyun_seoul
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Jul 12, 2025 at 1:07 PM#5

Clinical perspective, offered as context rather than as advice.

Glucagon receptor pharmacology in triple agonists (retatrutide), relevant to the glucagon co-agonists: the glucagon component is the most controversial because glucagon traditionally raises blood glucose. So why include it in an anti-obesity drug?

Key insight: glucagon increases energy expenditure (thermogenesis), promotes hepatic lipid oxidation, and reduces appetite through distinct CNS mechanisms. The hyperglycemic effect is counterbalanced by the GLP-1 component's insulin secretagogue action.

Net result: more weight loss through increased expenditure (glucagon) + decreased intake (GLP-1/GIP), with neutral or improved glycemia. An elegant pharmacological balancing act[1].

References:
[1] Day JW, et al. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2022;21:37-54.
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