# Use of a GLP-1 Agonist to Treat Opioid Use Disorder in Rats and Man

> **NIH NIH UG3** · PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV HERSHEY MED CTR · 2021 · $145,779

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
This administrative supplement is submitted in response to Notice Number: NOT-DA-21-032: Notice of Special
Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplements for research on fentanyl and derivatives. This supplement outlines
experiments to extend the parent 5 UG3 DA050325-02 titled, “Use of a GLP-1 Agonist to Treat Opioid Use
Disorder in Rats and Man”. Specifically, the studies are designed to test whether a glucagon-like peptide-1
receptor (GLP-1R) agonist, found to safely and effectively reduce heroin taking and seeking in rats in the
parent UG3 grant, also can safely and effectively reduce cue-, drug-, and stress-induced reinstatement of
fentanyl seeking. This shift in focus is critical because, during the first ten months of 2020, i.e., during onset of
the COVID-19 pandemic, overdose deaths increased in almost every state in the nation (see Figure 1) [1] and
this increase can be attributed largely to a spike in deaths related to the use of synthetic opioids such as
fentanyl [1]. Specific Aim 1, then, will test whether treatment with the GLP-1R agonist, liraglutide, during
abstinence and prior to test, can reduce cue-induced fentanyl seeking and drug- and stress-induced
reinstatement of fentanyl seeking in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Here, the dose of liraglutide will be titrated as it
is for the treatment of obesity and type two diabetes in humans. Specific Aim 2 will address safety by testing
the impact of GLP-1R treatment on fentanyl-induced respiratory depression and cardiovascular dysregulation,
two primary contributors to opioid overdose death, and on naloxone precipitated withdrawal, a primary
precipitator of relapse. We predict that treatment with the GLP-1R agonist, liraglutide, will reduce cue-, drug-,
and stress-induced seeking for both the low and the high dose of fentanyl and that the GLP-1R agonist will not
exacerbate fentanyl-induced respiratory depression, cardiovascular dysregulation, or withdrawal in fentanyl
experienced rats. If our hypotheses are confirmed, we will have demonstrated that liraglutide, a non-opioid, has
promise as a safe and effective, non-opioid treatment for opioid use disorder.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10419922
- **Project number:** 3UG3DA050325-02S2
- **Recipient organization:** PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV HERSHEY MED CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** SCOTT C BUNCE
- **Activity code:** UG3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $145,779
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10419922

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10419922, Use of a GLP-1 Agonist to Treat Opioid Use Disorder in Rats and Man (3UG3DA050325-02S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10419922. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*