Research
Hormonal
Six months of once-weekly GLP-1 analogue (semaglutide) therapy restores natural killer (NK) cell effector function (cytotoxicity and cytokine production) in people with obesity, independent of weight loss.
For people with obesity, GLP-1 therapy (like semaglutide) may strengthen the immune system's ability to fight viruses and cancer, independent of how much weight is lost. This suggests benefits beyond just metabolic health.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
These data demonstrate that PWO who received GLP-1 therapy have improved NK cell function, as measured by cytotoxicity and interferon-γ/granzyme B production... Finally, it shows that the reported improvements in NK cell function appear to be independent of weight loss.
Why this rating
Small cohort (n=20), single-arm pre-post design without a non-obese control group for the post-treatment comparison, though it includes pre-treatment baseline comparisons.
Source
Glucagon‐like peptide‐1 therapy in people with obesity restores natural killer cell metabolism and effector function
Conor De Barra et al. · Obesity · 2023
DOI 10.1002/oby.23772
cohort · n=20Cited 43×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
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