Nutrients

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Shin-ichiro Karaki

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Environmental and Life Sciences, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan
Interests: gastrointestinal physiology; intestinal luminal chemosensing; enteric nervous system; enteroendocrine; gut epithelial ion transport; gut mucosal barrier function; Ussing chamber; intestinal motility

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Luminal chemosensory system in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is considered to sense luminal chemicals, including nutrients, and has a role in inducing suitable local and systemic physiological responses. This system consists of scattered chemosensory cells including enteroendocrine cells, tuft/brush cells such as taste cells in the taste buds, and some unidentified epithelial cells. These cells exist not only in the stomach and small intestine but also in the large intestine; they are considered to sense enterobacterial products, including short-chain fatty acids, and vitamins, etc., and relate to a variety of diseases. Therefore, some beneficial effects of prebiotics, probiotics, and biogenics are possibly based on this system.

The Special Issue, “Gastrointestinal Luminal Nutrient Sensing and Physiological Responses: From Basic to Disease”, solicits manuscripts concerning molecular to whole-body studies in humans and animals, focusing on GI luminal nutrient sensing, as well as physiological and pathophysiological responses, including regulatory responses of the GI motility, mucosal barrier functions, and transepithelial substrate (ion, water, nutrients, and some macromolecules) transport. Experimental papers, review articles, and commentaries are welcome.

Dr. Shin-ichiro Karaki
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

GI luminal chemosensing
Enteroendocrine cells
Tuft/brush cells
Enterobacterial metabolites

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Review

16 pages, 1372 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Gastrointestinal Hormones in Healthy Adults: Reliability of Repeated Assessments and Interrelations with Eating Habits and Physical Activity

by Silke M. Wortha, Katharina A. Wüsten, Veronica A. Witte, Nicole Bössel, Wolfram Keßler, Antje Vogelgesang and Agnes Flöel

Nutrients 2021, 13(11), 3809; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13113809 - 26 Oct 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2121

Abstract

Background: Gastrointestinal hormones (GIHs) are crucial for the regulation of a variety of physiological functions and have been linked to hunger, satiety, and appetite control. Thus, they might constitute meaningful biomarkers in longitudinal and interventional studies on eating behavior and body weight control. However, little is known about the physiological levels of GIHs, their intra-individual stability over time, and their interaction with other metabolic and lifestyle-related parameters. Therefore, the aim of this pilot study is to investigate the intra-individual stability of GIHs in normal-weight adults over time. Methods: Plasma concentrations of ghrelin, leptin, GLP-1 (glucagon-like-peptide), and PP (pancreatic polypeptide) were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 17 normal-weight, healthy adults in a longitudinal design at baseline and at follow-up six months later. The reliability of the measurements was estimated using intra-class correlation (ICC). In a second step, we considered the stability of GIH levels after controlling for changes in blood glucose and hemoglobin A1 (HbA1c) as well as self-reported physical activity and dietary habits. Results: We found excellent reliability for ghrelin, good reliability for GLP1 and PP, and moderate reliability for leptin. After considering glucose, HbA1c, physical activity, and dietary habits as co-variates, the reliability of ghrelin, GLP1, and PP did not change significantly; the reliability of leptin changed to poor reliability. Conclusions: The GIHs ghrelin, GLP1, and PP demonstrated good to excellent test–retest reliability in healthy individuals, a finding that was not modified after adjusting for glucose control, physical activity, or dietary habits. Leptin showed only moderate to poor reliability, which might be linked to weight fluctuations, albeit small, between baseline and follow-up assessment in our study sample. Together, these findings support that ghrelin, GLP1, and PP might be further examined as biomarkers in studies on weight control, with GLP1 and PP serving as anorexic markers and ghrelin as an orexigenic marker. Additional reliability studies in obese individuals are necessary to verify or refute our findings for this cohort. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gastrointestinal Luminal Nutrient Sensing and Physiological Responses—from Basic to Disease)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

14 pages, 1849 KiB

Open AccessReview

Luminal Chemosensory Cells in the Small Intestine

by Andreanna Burman and Izumi Kaji

Nutrients 2021, 13(11), 3712; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13113712 - 22 Oct 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3833

Abstract

In addition to the small intestine’s well-known function of nutrient absorption, the small intestine also plays a major role in nutrient sensing. Similar to taste sensors seen on the tongue, GPCR-coupled nutrient sensors are expressed throughout the intestinal epithelium and respond to nutrients found in the lumen. These taste receptors respond to specific ligands, such as digested carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The activation of nutrient sensors in the intestine allows for the induction of signaling pathways needed for the digestive system to process an influx of nutrients. Such processes include those related to glucose homeostasis and satiety. Defects in intestinal nutrient sensing have been linked to a variety of metabolic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. Here, we review recent updates in the mechanisms related to intestinal nutrient sensors, particularly in enteroendocrine cells, and their pathological roles in disease. Additionally, we highlight the emerging nutrient sensing role of tuft cells and recent work using enteroids as a sensory organ model. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gastrointestinal Luminal Nutrient Sensing and Physiological Responses—from Basic to Disease)

► Show Figures