Why weight-loss jabs could improve liver health
A new study found that weight loss shots may improve liver health by reducing inflammation and scarring, even without significant weight loss.
Researchers at Sinai Health in Toronto found that semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular weight-loss medications that mimic the gut hormone GLP-1, can act directly on a type of liver cell.
Semaglutide, sold under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic, is currently used for weight loss and type 2 diabetes, but has been shown to help treat metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a long-term liver condition caused by too much fat in the liver.
The severe form of fatty liver disease, which affects around 3 million people in the UK, may improve with weight loss. But the weight-loss injections also improved patients’ livers in ways that weight loss alone could not, the researchers said.
Senior researcher Dr. from the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute. Daniel Drucker said: “We found in clinical studies that patients who lost too little weight saw the same reductions in liver inflammation, scarring, and enzyme levels as those who lost too much weight. Now we know why.”
Findings published in the journal Cell MetabolismHe challenged the assumption that liver cells do not carry the receptor to which semaglutide binds, meaning that the drug has no direct pathway to have any effect on the organ.
Dr Maria Gonzalez-Rellan studied mouse models of MASH and molecular analyzes of liver cells and found two cell types carrying semaglutide receptors: liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) and immune T cells.
found that semaglutide reversed MASH in mice lacking brain receptors that control appetite; This suggested that weight loss was not necessary for liver benefits. In another test, mice lacking LSEC receptors showed no improvement in their livers after semaglutide treatment, even after losing 20 percent of their body weight.
The analysis revealed that semaglutide changed gene activity in LSECs and caused them to secrete anti-inflammatory molecules, helping the liver to be healthier.
Knowing that semaglutide improves liver health independent of weight loss may influence prescribing decisions. Doctors may choose lower doses to avoid side effects associated with higher doses needed for significant weight loss, potentially reducing costs for patients as well, Drucker said.
He added: “We’re not saying weight loss isn’t important because many things improve when patients lose weight. But we now know that weight shouldn’t be the sole measure of success because GLP-1 drugs will improve liver health whether the patient loses weight or not.”
Naveed Sattar, professor of cardiometabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, believes most of semaglutide’s benefits come from weight loss but welcomes this “pleasant surprise”.
“Although weight loss clearly leads to significant reductions in liver fat, these drugs may also have important direct effects on liver biology. If confirmed, this would represent another pleasant surprise with these drugs,” he said. Independent.
