Bridgette Chia

Disordered control of intestinal sweet taste receptor expression and glucose absorption in type 2 diabetes.

We previously established that the intestinal sweet taste receptors (STRs), T1R2 and T1R3, were expressed in distinct epithelial cells in the human proximal intestine and that their transcript levels varied with glycemic status in patients with type 2 diabetes. Here we determined whether STR expression was 1) acutely regulated by changes in luminal and systemic glucose levels, 2) disordered in type 2 diabetes, and 3) linked to glucose absorption. Fourteen healthy subjects and 13 patients with type 2 diabetes were studied twice, at euglycemia (5.2 ± 0.2 mmol/L) or hyperglycemia (12.3 ± 0.2 mmol/L). Endoscopic biopsy specimens were collected from the duodenum at baseline and after a 30-min intraduodenal glucose infusion of 30 g/150 mL water plus 3 g 3-O-methylglucose (3-OMG). STR transcripts were quantified by RT-PCR, and plasma was assayed for 3-OMG concentration. Intestinal STR transcript levels at baseline were unaffected by acute variations in glycemia in healthy subjects and in type 2 diabetic patients. T1R2 transcript levels increased after luminal glucose infusion in both groups during euglycemia (+5.8 × 104 and +5.8 × 104 copies, respectively) but decreased in healthy subjects during hyperglycemia (−1.4 × 104 copies). T1R2 levels increased significantly in type 2 diabetic patients under the same conditions (+6.9 × 105 copies). Plasma 3-OMG concentrations were significantly higher in type 2 diabetic patients than in healthy control subjects during acute hyperglycemia. Intestinal T1R2 expression is reciprocally regulated by luminal glucose in health according to glycemic status but is disordered in type 2 diabetes during acute hyperglycemia. This defect may enhance glucose absorption in type 2 diabetic patients and exacerbate postprandial hyperglycemia.

The effects of critical illness on intestinal glucose sensing, transporters, and absorption.

Objectives:Providing effective enteral nutrition is important during critical illness. In health, glucose is absorbed from the small intestine via sodium-dependent glucose transporter-1 and glucose transporter-2, which may both be regulated by intestinal sweet taste receptors. We evaluated the effect of critical illness on glucose absorption and expression of intestinal sodium-dependent glucose transporter-1, glucose transporter-2, and sweet taste receptors in humans and mice. Design:Prospective observational study in humans and mice. Setting:ICU and university-affiliated research laboratory. Subjects:Human subjects were 12 critically ill patients and 12 healthy controls. In the laboratory 16-week-old mice were studied. Interventions:Human subjects underwent endoscopy. Glucose (30 g) and 3-O-methylglucose (3 g), used to estimate glucose absorption, were infused intraduodenally over 30 minutes. Duodenal mucosa was biopsied before and after infusion. Mice were randomized to cecal ligation and puncture to model critical illness (n = 16) or sham laparotomy (control) (n = 8). At day 5, mice received glucose (100 mg) and 3-O-methylglucose (10 mg) infused intraduodenally prior to mucosal tissue collection. Measurements and Main Results:Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to measure absolute (human) and relative levels of sodium-dependent glucose transporter-1, glucose transporter-2, and taste receptor type 1 member 2 (T1R2) transcripts. Blood samples were assayed for 3-O-methylglucose to estimate glucose absorption. Glucose absorption was three-fold lower in critically ill humans than in controls (p = 0.002) and reduced by a similar proportion in cecal ligation and puncture mice (p = 0.004). In critically ill patients, duodenal levels of sodium-dependent glucose transporter-1, glucose transporter-2, and T1R2 transcript were reduced 49% (p < 0.001), 50% (p = 0.009), and 85% (p = 0.007), whereas in the jejunum of cecal ligation and puncture mice sodium-dependent glucose transporter-1, glucose transporter-2, and T1R2 transcripts were reduced by 55% (p < 0.001), 50% (p = 0.002), and 69% (p = 0.004). Conclusions:Critical illness is characterized by markedly diminished glucose absorption, associated with reduced intestinal expression of glucose transporters (sodium-dependent glucose transporter-1 and glucose transporter-2) and sweet taste receptor transcripts. These changes are paralleled in cecal ligation and puncture mice.

Accelerated Intestinal Glucose Absorption in Morbidly Obese Humans: Relationship to Glucose Transporters, Incretin Hormones, and Glycemia

CONTEXT Intestinal glucose absorption is mediated by sodium-dependent glucose transporter 1 (SGLT-1) and glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2), which are linked to sweet taste receptor (STR) signaling and incretin responses. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine intestinal glucose absorption in morbidly obese humans and its relationship to the expression of STR and glucose transporters, glycemia, and incretin responses. DESIGN/SETTING/PARTICIPANTS Seventeen nondiabetic, morbidly obese subjects (body mass index [BMI], 48 ± 4 kg/m(2)) and 11 lean controls (BMI, 25 ± 1 kg/m(2)) underwent endoscopic duodenal biopsies before and after a 30-minute intraduodenal glucose infusion (30 g glucose and 3 g 3-O-methylglucose [3-OMG]). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Blood glucose and plasma concentrations of 3-OMG, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), insulin, and glucagon were measured over 270 minutes. Expression of duodenal SGLT-1, GLUT2, and STR (T1R2) was quantified by PCR. RESULTS The increase in plasma 3-OMG (P < .001) and blood glucose (P < .0001) were greater in obese than lean subjects. Plasma 3-OMG correlated directly with blood glucose (r = 0.78, P < .01). In response to intraduodenal glucose, plasma GIP (P < .001), glucagon (P < .001), and insulin (P < .001) were higher, but GLP-1 (P < .001) was less in the obese compared with lean. Expression of SGLT-1 (P = .035), but not GLUT2 or T1R2, was higher in the obese, and related to peak plasma 3-OMG (r = 0.60, P = .01), GIP (r = 0.67, P = .003), and insulin (r = 0.58, P = .02). CONCLUSIONS In morbid obesity, proximal intestine glucose absorption is accelerated and related to increased SGLT-1 expression, leading to an incretin-glucagon profile promoting hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia. These findings are consistent with the concept that accelerated glucose absorption in the proximal gut underlies the foregut theory of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Upregulation of intestinal glucose transporters after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass to prevent carbohydrate malabsorption

To determine the effect of Roux‐en‐Y gastric bypass (RYGB) on the expression of intestinal sweet taste receptors (STRs), glucose transporters (GTs), glucose absorption, and glycemia.

Tu2012 Impact of a 2-Week Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) on Glucose Sensing, Absorption, Transporters, Incretin Hormones and Glycemia in Morbidly Obese Humans

We showed that glucose absorption is accelerated in the proximal intestine of morbidly obese humans, associated with increased expression of sodium dependent glucose co-transporter 1 (SGLT1), an altered incretin profile, hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia. This study aimed to examine the effects of energy restriction on glucose absorption, expression of intestinal glucose transporters and sweet taste receptors (STR), incretin hormone responses and glycemia in the morbidly obese. Methods: 10 non-diabetic, morbidly obese subjects (2M:8F; 45±3yrs, BMI: 46±3kg/m2) were studied before and after a 2-week VLCD (750kcal/day). On each occasion, endoscopic duodenal biopsies were collected before and after intraduodenal glucose infusion (30g glucose over 30 min, with 3g 3-O-methylglucose (3-OMG) to estimate glucose absorption). Blood glucose and plasma concentrations of 3-OMG, glucosedependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), and insulin were measured over 240 min. Absolute expression of SGLT-1, GLUT2 and STR (T1R2) transcripts was quantified by PCR. Results After 2 weeks of VLCD, body weight (-5.6±0.5kg, P<0.001), HbA1c (-0.32±0.08%, P=0.001), fasting blood glucose (-0.5±0.1mmol/L, P=0.02) and fasting expression of T1R2 (-54±22%, P=0.03), SGLT1 (-30±7%, P=0.004) and GLUT2 (-50±15%, P=0.008) were lower than at baseline. Prior to VLCD, intra-duodenal glucose had no impact onT1R2, SGLT-1 and GLUT2 expression, but after VLCD, intra-duodenal glucose stimulated increased expression of T1R2 (45±30%, P=0.03) and GLUT2 (57±14%, P=0.003). The blood glucose (P=0.002), plasma GIP (P=0.03) and plasma insulin (P=0.002) responses to intra-duodenal glucose were all reduced after VLCD, while plasma 3-OMG and GLP-1 concentrations were unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: The improvement in glycemic control after short-term VLCD in morbid obesity is most likely mediated by reduced insulin resistance from weight loss, but not via a reduction in intestinal glucose absorption or an increased incretin response. Although VCLD reduces the fasting expression of both STR and glucose transporters, these increase rapidly on exposure to glucose. Further studies with inhibitors of STR and/or glucose transporters are warranted to determine whether the changes in receptor expressional dynamics are responsible for the observed incretin responses.

Disordered Control of Intestinal Sweet Taste Receptor Expression in Type 2 Diabetes

5,619,926.58 person years in our analysis. During a median of 3 years, ~ 10% of our cohort of first cancer patients (n: 135,725/1,391,490) developed a second primary cancer. Of them, 2,214 (1.6%) had a second esophageal cancer. Cancer patients had a 1.7 higher risk of developing any esophageal cancer (SIR: 1.7 (95% CI: 1.6-1.7)) and a 2.2 higher risk of developing ESCC (SIR: 2.2 (95% CI: 2.1-2.4)) as compared to the general population. The SIR for a second ESCC after lung cancer was 3.70 (95% CI: 3.0-4.5). There was a remarkably high risk for developing a second ESCC in patients diagnosed with head-and-neck cancer with a SIR of 22.4 (95% CI: 20.0-25.0). In male patients the SIR for head-and-neck cancer was 19.3 (95% CI: 16.9-22.0) and 36.9 (95% CI: 29.8-45.4) for female patients. Of the 9,584 female patients with a first head-and-neck cancer 92 developed a second ESCC with a Number Needed to Screen of 96. Conclusions This first nationwide, population-based study in the Western world on the incidence of ESCC in head-and-neck cancer survivors shows that these patients have a 22 times higher risk of developing ESCC. This observation is even more pronounced in female patients. These data suggest that that head-and-neck cancer survivors may benefit from periodical screening for ESCC.