The anti-inflammatory feature of glucagon-like peptide-1 and its based diabetes drugs-Therapeutic potential exploration in lung injury

Since 2005,GLP-1 receptor(GLP-IR)agonists(GLP-IRAs)have been developed as therapeutic agents for type 2 diabetes(T2D).GLP-IR is not only expressed in pancreatic islets but also other organs,especially the lung.However,controversy on extra pancreatic GLP-IR expression still needs to be further resolved,utilizing different tools including the use of more reliable GLP-IR antibodies in immune-staining and co-immune-staining.Extra-pancreatic expression of GLP-IR has triggered extensive investigations on extra-pancreatic functions of GLP-1RAs,aiming to repurpose them into therapeutic agents for other disorders.Extensive studies have demonstrated promising anti-infammatory features of GLP-IRAs.Whether those features are directly mediated by GLP-IR expressed in immune cells also remains controversial.Following a brief review on GLP-1 as an incretin hormone and the development of GLP-IRAs as therapeutic agents for T2D,we have summarized our current understanding of the antiinflammatory features of GLP-IRAS and commented on the controversy on extra-pancreatic GLP-IR expression.The main part of this review is a literature discussion on GLP-IRA utilization in animal models with chronic airway diseases and acute lung injuries,including studies on the combined use of mesenchymal stem cell(MSC)based therapy.This is followed by a brief summary.