scholarly journals Microbiota’s Role in Diet-Driven Alterations in Food Intake: Satiety, Energy Balance, and Reward

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 3067
Author(s):  
Allison W. Rautmann ◽  
Claire B. de La Serre

The gut microbiota plays a key role in modulating host physiology and behavior, particularly feeding behavior and energy homeostasis. There is accumulating evidence demonstrating a role for gut microbiota in the etiology of obesity. In human and rodent studies, obesity and high-energy feeding are most consistently found to be associated with decreased bacterial diversity, changes in main phyla relative abundances and increased presence of pro-inflammatory products. Diet-associated alterations in microbiome composition are linked with weight gain, adiposity, and changes in ingestive behavior. There are multiple pathways through which the microbiome influences food intake. This review discusses these pathways, including peripheral mechanisms such as the regulation of gut satiety peptide release and alterations in leptin and cholecystokinin signaling along the vagus nerve, as well as central mechanisms, such as the modulation of hypothalamic neuroinflammation and alterations in reward signaling. Most research currently focuses on determining the role of the microbiome in the development of obesity and using microbiome manipulation to prevent diet-induced increase in food intake. More studies are necessary to determine whether microbiome manipulation after prolonged energy-dense diet exposure and obesity can reduce intake and promote meaningful weight loss.

2016 ◽  
Vol 310 (2) ◽  
pp. E103-E115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lionel Carneiro ◽  
Sarah Geller ◽  
Xavier Fioramonti ◽  
Audrey Hébert ◽  
Cendrine Repond ◽  
...  

Monocarboxylates have been implicated in the control of energy homeostasis. Among them, the putative role of ketone bodies produced notably during high-fat diet (HFD) has not been thoroughly explored. In this study, we aimed to determine the impact of a specific rise in cerebral ketone bodies on food intake and energy homeostasis regulation. A carotid infusion of ketone bodies was performed on mice to stimulate sensitive brain areas for 6 or 12 h. At each time point, food intake and different markers of energy homeostasis were analyzed to reveal the consequences of cerebral increase in ketone body level detection. First, an increase in food intake appeared over a 12-h period of brain ketone body perfusion. This stimulated food intake was associated with an increased expression of the hypothalamic neuropeptides NPY and AgRP as well as phosphorylated AMPK and is due to ketone bodies sensed by the brain, as blood ketone body levels did not change at that time. In parallel, gluconeogenesis and insulin sensitivity were transiently altered. Indeed, a dysregulation of glucose production and insulin secretion was observed after 6 h of ketone body perfusion, which reversed to normal at 12 h of perfusion. Altogether, these results suggest that an increase in brain ketone body concentration leads to hyperphagia and a transient perturbation of peripheral metabolic homeostasis.


Author(s):  
Courtney Clyburn ◽  
Kirsteen N Browning

The meticulous regulation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is required for the co-ordination of gastric motility and emptying, intestinal secretion, absorption, and transit as well as for the overarching management of food intake and energy homeostasis. Disruption of GI functions is associated with the development of severe GI disorders as well as the alteration of food intake and caloric balance. Functional GI disorders as well as the dysregulation of energy balance and food intake are frequently associated with, or result from, alterations in the central regulation of GI control. The faithful and rapid transmission of information from the stomach and upper GI tract to second order neurons of the nucleus of the tractus solitarius (NTS) relies on the delicate modulation of excitatory glutamatergic transmission, as does the relay of integrated signals from the NTS to parasympathetic efferent neurons of the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV). Many studies have focused on understanding the physiological and pathophysiological modulation of these glutamatergic synapses, although their role in the control and regulation of GI functions has lagged behind that of cardiovascular and respiratory functions. The purpose of this review is to examine the current literature exploring the role of glutamatergic transmission in the DVC in the regulation of Gl functions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 975
Author(s):  
Tatiyana Harris ◽  
Raluca Bugescu ◽  
Jaylyn Kelly ◽  
Anna Makela ◽  
Morgan Sotzen ◽  
...  

Lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) neurons expressing the neuropeptide orexin (OX) are implicated in obesity and anxio-depression. However, these neurons release OX as well as a host of other proteins that might contribute to normal physiology and disease states. We hypothesized that delta-like homolog 1 (DLK1), a protein reported to be co-expressed by all OX neurons, contributes to the regulation of energy balance and/or anxio-depression. Consistent with previous reports, we found that all rat OX neurons co-express DLK1. Yet, in mice and humans only a subset of OX neurons co-expressed DLK1. Since human OX-DLK1 distribution is more similar to mice than rats, mice are a comparable model to assess the human physiologic role of DLK1. We therefore used a viral lesion strategy to selectively delete DLK1 within the LHA of adult mice (DLK1Null) to reveal its role in body weight and behavior. Adult-onset DLK1 deletion had no impact on body weight or ingestive behavior. However, DLK1Null mice engaged in more locomotor activity than control mice and had decreased anxiety and depression measured via the elevated plus maze and forced swim tests. These data suggest that DLK1 expression via DLK1-expressing OX neurons primarily contributes to anxio-depression behaviors without impacting body weight.


Endocrinology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 150 (7) ◽  
pp. 3101-3109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Peier ◽  
Jennifer Kosinski ◽  
Kimberly Cox-York ◽  
Ying Qian ◽  
Kunal Desai ◽  
...  

Neuromedin U (NMU) and neuromedin S (NMS) are structurally related neuropeptides that have been reported to modulate energy homeostasis. Pharmacological data have shown that NMU and NMS inhibit food intake when administered centrally and that NMU increases energy expenditure. Additionally, NMU-deficient mice develop obesity, whereas transgenic mice overexpressing NMU are lean and hypophagic. Two high-affinity NMU/NMS receptors, NMUR1 and NMUR2, have been identified. NMUR1 is predominantly expressed in the periphery, whereas NMUR2 is predominantly expressed in the brain, suggesting that the effects of centrally administered NMU and NMS are mediated by NMUR2. To evaluate the role of NMUR2 in the regulation of energy homeostasis, we characterized NMUR2-deficient (Nmur2−/−) mice. Nmur2−/− mice exhibited a modest resistance to diet-induced obesity that was at least in part due to reduced food intake. Acute central administration of NMU and NMS reduced food intake in wild-type but not in Nmur2−/− mice. The effects on activity and core temperature induced by centrally administered NMU were also absent in Nmur2−/− mice. Moreover, chronic central administration of NMU and NMS evoked significant reductions in body weight and sustained reductions in food intake in mice. In contrast, Nmur2−/− mice were largely resistant to these effects. Collectively, these data demonstrate that the anorectic and weight-reducing actions of centrally administered NMU and NMS are mediated predominantly by NMUR2, suggesting that NMUR2-selective agonists may be useful for the treatment of obesity.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Henrique Marques Gonçalves ◽  
Sabrina Mara Tristão ◽  
Rafaella Eduarda Volpi ◽  
Gislaine Almeida-Pereira ◽  
Beatriz de Carvalho Borges ◽  
...  

Leptin plays an important role in the protection against diet-induced obesity (DIO) by its actions in ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) neurons. However, little is known about the intracellular mechanisms involved in these effects. To assess the role of the STAT3 and ERK2 signaling in neurons that express the steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1) in the VMH on energy homeostasis, we used cre-lox technology to generate male and female mice with specific disruption of STAT3 or ERK2 in SF1 neurons of the VMH. We demonstrated that the conditional knockout of STAT3 in SF1 neurons of the VMH did not affect body weight, food intake, energy expenditure and glucose homeostasis in animals on regular chow. However, when challenged with high-fat diet (HFD), loss of STAT3 in SF1 neurons caused a significant increase in body weight, food intake and energy efficiency that was more remarkable in females which also showed a decrease in energy expenditure. In contrast, deletion of ERK2 in SF1 neurons of VMH did not have any impact on energy homeostasis in both regular diet and HFD conditions. In conclusion, STAT3 but not ERK2 signaling in SF1 neurons of VMH plays a crucial role to protect against DIO in a sex-specific pattern.


Author(s):  
Keerthana Sureshkumar ◽  
Andrea Saenz ◽  
Syed Muzzammil Ahmad ◽  
Kabirullah Lutfy

Pituitary adenylyl cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) belongs to the vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)/secretin/glucagon superfamily. PACAP is present in two forms, PACAP-38 and PACAP-27, and binds to three guanine-regulatory (G) protein-coupled receptors (PAC1, VPAC1, and VPAC2). PACAP is expressed in the central and peripheral nervous systems with high PACAP levels found in the hypothalamus, a brain region involved in feeding and energy homeostasis. PAC1 receptors are high-affinity and PACAP-selective receptors, while VPAC1 and VPAC2 receptors show a comparable affinity to PACAP and VIP. PACAP and its receptors are expressed in the central and peripheral nervous systems, with moderate to high expression in the hypothalamus, amygdala, and other limbic structures. Consistent with their expression, PACAP is involved in several physiological responses and pathological states. A growing body of literature suggests that PACAP regulates food intake in laboratory animals. However, there is no comprehensive review of the literature on this topic. Thus, the purpose of this article is to review the literature regarding the role of PACAP and its receptors in food intake regulation and to synthesize how PACAP exerts its anorexic effects in different brain regions. To achieve this goal, we searched PubMed and reviewed 68 articles regarding the regulatory action of PACAP on food intake. Here, we present the literature regarding the effect of exogenous PACAP on feeding and the role of endogenous PACAP in this process. We also provide evidence regarding the effect of PACAP on the homeostatic and hedonic aspects of food intake, the neuroanatomical sites where PACAP exerts its regulatory action, which PACAP receptors may be involved, and the role of various signaling pathways and neurotransmitters in hypophagic effects of PACAP.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 192
Author(s):  
Emmanouil Benioudakis ◽  
Eleni Karlafti ◽  
Alexandra Bekiaridou ◽  
Triantafyllos Didangelos ◽  
Theodossis S. Papavramidis

Diabetes mellitus has been steadily increasing over the past decades and is one of the most significant global public health concerns. Diabetes mellitus patients have an increased risk of both surgical and post-surgical complications. The post-surgical risks are associated with the primary condition that led to surgery and the hyperglycaemia per se. Gut microbiota seems to contribute to glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance. It affects the metabolism through body weight and energy homeostasis, integrating the peripheral and central food intake regulatory signals. Homeostasis of gut microbiota seems to be enhanced by probiotics pre and postoperatively. The term probiotics is used to describe some species of live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer health benefits on the host. The role of probiotics in intestinal or microbial skin balance after abdominal or soft tissue elective surgeries on DM patients seems beneficial, as it promotes anti-inflammatory cytokine production while increasing the wound-healing process. This review article aims to present the interrelation of probiotic supplements with DM patients undergoing elective surgeries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 890-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracey L K Bear ◽  
Julie E Dalziel ◽  
Jane Coad ◽  
Nicole C Roy ◽  
Christine A Butts ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT There is emerging evidence that an unhealthy dietary pattern may increase the risk of developing depression or anxiety, whereas a healthy dietary pattern may decrease it. This nascent research suggests that dietary interventions could help prevent, or be an alternative or adjunct therapy for, depression and anxiety. The relation, however, is complex, affected by many confounding variables, and is also likely to be bidirectional, with dietary choices being affected by stress and depression. This complexity is reflected in the data, with sometimes conflicting results among studies. As the research evolves, all characteristics of the relation need to be considered to ensure that we obtain a full understanding, which can potentially be translated into clinical practice. A parallel and fast-growing body of research shows that the gut microbiota is linked with the brain in a bidirectional relation, commonly termed the microbiome–gut–brain axis. Preclinical evidence suggests that this axis plays a key role in the regulation of brain function and behavior. In this review we discuss possible reasons for the conflicting results in diet–mood research, and present examples of areas of the diet–mood relation in which the gut microbiota is likely to be involved, potentially explaining some of the conflicting results from diet and depression studies. We argue that because diet is one of the most significant factors that affects human gut microbiota structure and function, nutritional intervention studies need to consider the gut microbiota as an essential piece of the puzzle.


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