{"id":1146,"date":"2026-08-08T18:05:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T01:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inside.salk.edu\/fall-2026\/?p=1146"},"modified":"2026-08-10T21:32:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T04:32:37","slug":"how-do-glp-1-drugs-affect-gene-expression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inside.salk.edu\/fall-2026\/how-do-glp-1-drugs-affect-gene-expression\/","title":{"rendered":"How do GLP-1 drugs affect gene expression?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary><em>PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES\u00a0<\/em><br><em>03\/2026\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/summary>\n<p><\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<p>GLP-1s are building a reputation as \u201cwonder drugs.\u201d First characterized for their ability to improve insulin release and treat diabetes, the drugs were later found to promote weight loss and improve cardiovascular health. In addition to those bonus benefits, GLP-1 drugs can improve pancreatic beta cell health. But how, exactly, are they doing that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the lab of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/scientist\/marc-montminy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Marc Montminy, MD, PhD<\/a>, scientists are burrowing into the mechanistic details behind how GLP-1 drugs promote viability and stress resistance in pancreatic beta cells. Since cellular performance adaptations arise from gene expression changes, the team screened for regulatory proteins that can switch on gene programs responsible for the beneficial effects of prolonged use of GLP-1 therapeutics. They identified a protein called Med14\u2014part of a larger protein complex called Mediator\u2014that enables the GLP-1-dependent changes in gene expression that lead to pancreatic health benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/how-do-glp-1-agonists-affect-gene-expression\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Read news release<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GLP-1s are building a reputation as \u201cwonder drugs.\u201d First characterized for their ability to improve insulin release and treat diabetes, the drugs were later found to promote weight loss and improve cardiovascular health. In addition to those bonus benefits, GLP-1 drugs can improve pancreatic beta cell health. But how, exactly, are they doing that? In [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discoveries","category-metabolism"],"blocksy_meta":{"has_hero_section":"enabled","hero_section":"type-2","page_structure_type":"type-3","styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"[data-prefix=\"single_blog_post\"] .entry-header .page-title {--theme-font-size:30px;} [data-prefix=\"single_blog_post\"] .entry-header .entry-meta {--theme-font-weight:600;--theme-text-transform:uppercase;--theme-font-size:12px;--theme-line-height:1.3;} [data-prefix=\"single_blog_post\"] .hero-section[data-type=\"type-2\"] {background-color:var(--theme-palette-color-6);background-image:none;--container-padding:50px 0px;}","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":{"Albert Sans":["n4","n6"]},"version":6}},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How do GLP-1 drugs affect gene expression? - Inside Salk | Fall 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/inside.salk.edu\/fall-2026\/how-do-glp-1-drugs-affect-gene-expression\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How do GLP-1 drugs affect gene expression? - Inside Salk | Fall 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GLP-1s are building a reputation as \u201cwonder drugs.\u201d First characterized for their ability to improve insulin release and treat diabetes, the drugs were later found to promote weight loss and improve cardiovascular health. In addition to those bonus benefits, GLP-1 drugs can improve pancreatic beta cell health. But how, exactly, are they doing that? 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