Reading about receptor desensitisation and trying to work out which of the effects adapt over time and which do not, because people clearly experience both.
Numbers worth memorising for this class: Tmax one to three days for the weekly peptides, terminal half-life about a week for semaglutide and about five days for tirzepatide, steady state at four to five half-lives, subcutaneous bioavailability high enough that site choice is irrelevant.
The narrow version of the question is which effects tachyphylax and which persist, because the answer explains why tolerability improves while the appetite effect keeps working.
Tell me what I have not thought of.
tommy_boulder said:Reading about receptor desensitisation and trying to work out which of the effects adapt over time and which do not, because people clearly experience…
Semaglutide structural biology relevant to the pharmacology: semaglutide is a 31-amino acid peptide with 94% homology to native GLP-1(7-36). Three key modifications enable its pharmacokinetic profile:
- Aib8 substitution: DPP-4 resistance (prevents enzymatic degradation)
- Arg34 substitution: improved chemical stability
- C18 fatty diacid at Lys26: albumin binding → long half-life
These three modifications transform a peptide with a 2-minute half-life (native GLP-1) into one with a 168-hour half-life (semaglutide). A masterclass in peptide engineering.
CarlaRPh_TPA said:Semaglutide structural biology relevant to the pharmacology: semaglutide is a 31-amino acid peptide with 94% homology to native GLP-1(7-36).
No disagreement with CarlaRPh_TPA. One condition attached. The mechanism is more central than most summaries suggest. Receptor agonism in the arcuate nucleus activates POMC neurons and inhibits AgRP/NPY signalling, and the downstream MC4R pathway is the same one disrupted in monogenic obesity — convergent genetic evidence that the target is the right one. Peripherally there is glucose-dependent insulin secretion, glucagon suppression and delayed gastric emptying, but the gastric component largely adapts over months while the central effect persists, which is why the durable effect is appetite rather than fullness.
Happy to go further on any of that.
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Shop Reference Standardstommy_boulder said:Reading about receptor desensitisation and trying to work out which of the effects adapt over time and which do not, because people clearly experience…
Adding a me-too, because a thread of one person's experience is not much use. I had assumed I was the exception until I read this.
Adding the clinical framing, because it changes how the question reads.
Receptor pharmacology relevant to the pharmacology: semaglutide is a GLP-1R agonist with a C-18 fatty acid chain that enables albumin binding (>99%), creating a depot effect with a ~168-hour half-life enabling weekly dosing[1].
Tirzepatide is a dual GIP/GLP-1R agonist with higher GIP affinity (5:1 GIP:GLP-1 potency ratio). The GIP component may enhance beta-cell function and adipocyte lipid metabolism beyond what GLP-1 alone achieves.
For the pharmacology, the pharmacology explains the clinical differences between these agents.
[1] Lau J, et al. J Med Chem. 2015;58(18):7370-7380.