GLP-1 receptor mechanism & incretin biology

One receptor, many organs, one coordinated signal

Liraglutide works by switching on the GLP-1 receptor. The Victoza label describes what follows in the pancreas: cAMP rises, insulin is released in the presence of elevated glucose, that release subsides as glucose approaches normal, glucagon falls in the same glucose-dependent way, and gastric emptying is delayed.

This unit maps where the drug acts, then builds the mechanism underneath: why the insulin boost is glucose-dependent, what the label does and does not say about the signaling cascade, and why appetite falls. It is the mechanistic core that the trial units then test against real outcomes.