Repurposing metabolic drugs as anti-inflammatory agents

Dysregulation of bodyweight systemic metabolism is intrinsically linked to an inflammatory phenotype, with each underpinning the other. Over the past decade, new classes of drug, such as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-based therapies and sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, have entered the clinical management of bodyweight and metabolic disease with great success. With their expanded use, it is emerging that the benefits of these drugs extend beyond metabolic improvements into changes in chronic inflammation, potentially independent of those in metabolism. In this review, we discuss the impact of metabolic drugs on inflammatory comorbidities of metabolic disorders and beyond. We highlight the molecular mechanisms via which these drugs exert their anti-inflammatory actions and discuss their potential repurposing as direct anti-inflammatory agents.