New incretin hormonal therapies in humans relevant to diabetic cats.

Incretins (gastric inhibitory polypeptide and glucagon-like peptide 1 [GLP-1]) are hormones released from the gastrointestinal tract during food intake that potentiate insulin secretion. Native GLP-1 is quickly degraded by the enzyme dipeptidylpeptidase-4 (DPP-4), which has led to the development of GLP-1 agonists with resistance to degradation and to inhibitors of DPP-4 activity as therapeutic agents in humans with type 2 diabetes. In healthy cats, GLP-1 agonists and DPP-4 inhibitors have produced a substantial increase in insulin secretion. Although results of clinical studies are not yet available, incretin-based therapy promises to become an important new research area in feline diabetes.