{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,5]],"date-time":"2026-07-05T01:57:15Z","timestamp":1783216635491,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,5]],"date-time":"2026-02-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770249600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Yunnan Province Medical High-level Talents Program","award":["L2024012"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["L2024012"]}]},{"name":"Kunming University of Science and Technology Joint Special Project","award":["KUST-KH2023012Y"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KUST-KH2023012Y"]}]},{"name":"Yunnan Basic Research Program","award":["202401AY070001-252"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["202401AY070001-252"]}]},{"name":"\u201cFamous Doctors\u201d Special Project of \u201cTen Thousand Experts\u201d Program, Yunnan Province","award":["YNWR-MY-2019-020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["YNWR-MY-2019-020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Sepsis-induced organ dysfunction poses a significant clinical challenge with limited therapeutic options. This study investigated the therapeutic potential of the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) liraglutide in sepsis and its underlying mechanisms, focusing on modulation of the gut microbiota-derived metabolome. Methods: Public transcriptomic data analysis identified overlapping targets between liraglutide and sepsis-related genes. In a murine cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) model, liraglutide treatment was evaluated for its effects on survival, systemic inflammation, and organ injury. The gut microbiota composition and fecal metabolome were assessed via 16S rRNA sequencing and UPLC-MS. We also measured plasma GLP-1 in sepsis patients and examined the microbiota-dependency of liraglutide\u2019s effects using antibiotic-depleted mice and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from liraglutide-treated mice. Additionally, citrulline, a key identified metabolite, was functionally validated both in vitro and in a clinical cohort. Results: Liraglutide significantly improved survival, reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines, and alleviated lung, liver, and colon damage in septic mice. It partially restored sepsis-induced gut dysbiosis and modulating associated metabolites, including increasing citrulline. The survival benefit of liraglutide was abolished in microbiota-depleted mice, while FMT from liraglutide-treated mice conferred protection against sepsis, confirming the gut microbiota as a critical mediator. Furthermore, citrulline exhibited direct anti-inflammatory properties in cellular assays, and its plasma levels were negatively correlated with sepsis biomarkers (PCT and CRP) in patients. Conclusions: Taken together, our findings indicate that liraglutide mitigates sepsis by modulating the gut microbiota and regulating associated metabolic pathways. Citrulline may represent a potential microbial mediator or exploratory biomarker within this axis, warranting further mechanistic investigation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu18030531","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,5]],"date-time":"2026-02-05T11:13:01Z","timestamp":1770289981000},"page":"531","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["GLP-1RA Liraglutide Attenuates Sepsis by Modulating Gut Microbiota and Associated Metabolites"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-3378-3071","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bing","family":"Gong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhuang\u2019e","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jialong","family":"Qi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fuping","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2204-7032","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Guobing","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0660-8212","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Heng","family":"Su","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"801","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2016.0287","article-title":"The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3)","volume":"315","author":"Singer","year":"2016","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"166876","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bbadis.2023.166876","article-title":"Gut-derived 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid attenuates sepsis-induced acute kidney injury by upregulating ARC to inhibit necroptosis","volume":"1870","author":"An","year":"2024","journal-title":"Biochim. 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