- Asmar M, Simonsen L, Asmar A, et al. Insulin plays a permissive role for the vasoactive effect of GIP regulating adipose tissue metabolism in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2016;101(8):3155–62.
- Getty-Kaushik L, Song DH, Boylan MO, et al. Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide modulates adipocyte lipolysis and reesterification. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2006;14(7):1124–31.
- Newgard CB. Metabolomics and metabolic diseases: where do we stand? Cell Metab 2017;25(1):43–56.
- Wang TJ, Larson MG, Vasan RS, et al. Metabolite profiles and the risk of developing diabetes. Nat Med 2011;17(4):448–53.
- Flores-Guerrero JL, Osté MCJ, Kieneker LM, et al. Plasma branched-chain amino acids and risk of incident type 2 diabetes: results from the PREVEND prospective cohort study. J Clin Med 2018;7(12):513.
- Lotta LA, Scott RA, Sharp SJ, et al. Genetic predisposition to an impaired metabolism of the branched-chain amino acids and risk of type 2 diabetes: a mendelian randomisation analysis. PLoS Med 2016;13(11):e1002179.
Findings
What does this study add?
- At 26 weeks, a higher dose of tirzepatide modulated a cluster of metabolites and lipids associated with insulin resistance, obesity, and future T2D risk.
- After 26 weeks, 54 metabolites had a significant change from baseline in response to tirzepatide 15 mg, compared to 6 with dulaglutide, and 0 with placebo.
- Compared to baseline and placebo, there were decreased levels of BCAA and their direct catabolic products, branched-chain ketoacids, and indirect byproducts such as 2-hydroxybutyrate.
- The changes were significantly larger with tirzepatide compared with dulaglutide – and directly proportional to reductions in HbA1c, insulin resistance indices, and proinsulin levels.
- Proportional to metabolite changes, triglycerides and diglycerides were lowered significantly compared to baseline, dulaglutide, and placebo, with a bias toward shorter and highly saturated species.