- Non-functional, naturally occurring anticancer cells may be restored by GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, according to a new study.
- The study’s authors see evidence that GLP-1 helps the cells directly and theorize that this may reduce a person’s cancer risk.
- Obesity is associated with many forms of cancers, diabetes, hypertension, and other diseases, as well as increased mortality.
- The anticancer cells do not work as well in people with obesity, although the mechanism behind them is still being investigated.
A new study finds that GLP-1-based weight-loss drugs directly re-activate critical cancer-fighting immune cells that have become defective due to obesity. The study’s authors assert that this occurs in addition to the cancer-preventing weight-loss effect of GLP-1 drugs.
The study finds that GLP-1 reestablished the metabolism of the body’s circulating “natural killer,” or NK, cells, restoring their ability to destroy cancer cells.
NK cells are innate immune system lymphocytes that, when healthy, are an important feature of the immune system’s quick response to a pathogen.
Obesity is
“GLP-1” is an abbreviation for “glucagon-like peptide-1,” a receptor
Drugs based on GLP-1, such as the popular, injectable Ozempic from Novo Nordisk, help people eat less by promoting an extended sensation of being full.
For the study, the researchers sampled cells from 20 people with obesity who were already scheduled to begin weekly GLP-1 treatments of one 0.25 milligrams (mg) semaglutide injection, for 6 months.
The researchers analyzed participants’ NK cell function and metabolism using three methods: multicolor flow cytometry, enzyme-linked…
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