Mechanism of and strategy to mitigate liraglutide-mediated positive chronotropy.

AIM: An adverse side-effect of Liraglutide (LG), a Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 (GLP1)-analog commonly used in treatments for diabetes, is positive chronotropy. The goal of this study is to investigate on the mechanism of this drug-induced chronotropy and explore potential means to mitigate this side-effect so as to maximize the therapeutic benefits from LG. MAIN METHODS: Experiments were conducted with: 1) Isolated rabbit hearts in a Langendorff set-up to assess for direct effects of drug actions and 2) Murine cardiomyocytes isolated from the sino-atrial node (SAN) to assess the effects of LG on spontaneous action potential (AP) firing and the hyperpolarization-activated current I. KEY FINDINGS: LG induced a dose-dependent increase in heart rate. Its effects on sinus node automaticity, which were not suppressed during β-blockade with Propranolol, were abolished by I blockade with Ivabradine. In isolated murine SAN myocytes, LG increased spontaneous AP firing frequency by an increase in diastolic depolarization slope without changing other electrophysiological parameters. SIGNIFICANCE: LG-induced positive chronotropy is partly due to a direct effect on the SAN and is independent of the adrenergic cascade and extrinsic autonomic reflex mechanisms. The direct LG-associated increase in heart rate should be mitigated with I blockers rather than β-blockade.