1. Academic Validation
  2. Body-wide multi-omic counteraction of aging with GLP-1R agonism

Body-wide multi-omic counteraction of aging with GLP-1R agonism

  • Cell Metab. 2025 Dec 2;37(12):2362-2380.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2025.10.014.
Junzhe Huang 1 Andrew J Kwok 2 Jason Chak Yan Li 2 Clement Lek Hin Chiu 2 Bonaventure Y Ip 2 Lok Yi Tung 2 Roy C H Chan 2 Danny C W Chan 2 Ziyu Wang 2 Xianyi Zheng 2 Hoi Tung Chow 2 Michelle P S Lo 2 Zhongqi Li 3 Nenghan Lin 2 Manyu Wang 2 Leo Y C Yan 2 William K K Wu 4 Kim Hei-Man Chow 5 Wei-Jye Lin 6 Yamei Tang 6 Yun Zhang 7 Weihong Song 8 Billy Wai-Lung Ng 9 Sunny H Wong 10 Thomas W Leung 11 Vincent C T Mok 12 Ho Ko 13
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Margaret K.L. Cheung Research Centre for Management of Parkinsonism, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Lau Tat-chuen Research Centre of Brain Degenerative Diseases in Chinese, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China. Electronic address: junzhe.huang@link.cuhk.edu.hk.
  • 2 Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Margaret K.L. Cheung Research Centre for Management of Parkinsonism, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Lau Tat-chuen Research Centre of Brain Degenerative Diseases in Chinese, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China.
  • 3 Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Margaret K.L. Cheung Research Centre for Management of Parkinsonism, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Lau Tat-chuen Research Centre of Brain Degenerative Diseases in Chinese, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Department of Neurology, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
  • 4 Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Peter Hung Pain Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China.
  • 5 Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China.
  • 6 Department of Neurology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Medical Research Center, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China; Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
  • 7 Department of Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
  • 8 Oujiang Laboratory, Center for Geriatric Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
  • 9 Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Peter Hung Pain Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for New Drug Screening, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China.
  • 10 Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, 11 Mandalay Road, Singapore 308232, Singapore.
  • 11 Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China.
  • 12 Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Margaret K.L. Cheung Research Centre for Management of Parkinsonism, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Lau Tat-chuen Research Centre of Brain Degenerative Diseases in Chinese, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China. Electronic address: vctmok@cuhk.edu.hk.
  • 13 Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Margaret K.L. Cheung Research Centre for Management of Parkinsonism, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China; Lau Tat-chuen Research Centre of Brain Degenerative Diseases in Chinese, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China. Electronic address: ho.ko@cuhk.edu.hk.
Abstract

Identifying practical ways to counteract aging and associated degenerative disorders is urgently needed. We performed deep molecular profiling and functional assessments in aging male mice to show that glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) treatment broadly counteracts age-related changes. In mice treated with a GLP-1RA from 11 months for 30 weeks, we observed strong body-wide multi-omic age-counteracting effects and improved selected physical functions. Importantly, the effects were specific to aged mice, not young adults, and were attained with a relatively low dose that minimally affected food intake or body weight. With GLP-1RA treatment beginning at 18 months for 13 weeks, the molecular age-counteracting effects were even stronger and largely dependent on hypothalamic GLP-1R, pointing to a brain-body axis of aging modulation. Comparison with mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibition, a proven Anti-aging strategy, revealed strong multi-omic similarities. Our findings have broad implications for the mechanisms behind GLP-1RAs' pleiotropic benefits, guiding clinical trials, and informing development of anti-aging-based therapeutics.

Keywords

GLP-1R agonist; aging; brain-body interaction; exenatide; mTOR inhibition; multi-omics; rapamycin.

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