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. 2013 Jan;144(1):50-52.e5.
doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2012.09.009. Epub 2012 Sep 17.

The effects of vertical sleeve gastrectomy in rodents are ghrelin independent

Adam P Chambers  1 , Henriette Kirchner, Hilary E Wilson-Perez, Jill A Willency, John E Hale, Bruce D Gaylinn, Michael O Thorner, Paul T Pfluger, Jesus A Gutierrez, Matthias H Tschöp, Darleen A Sandoval, Randy J Seeley
Affiliations

The effects of vertical sleeve gastrectomy in rodents are ghrelin independent

Adam P Chambers et al. Gastroenterology. 2013 Jan.

Abstract

Reductions in levels of the hunger-stimulating hormone ghrelin have been proposed to mediate part of the effects of vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgeries for obesity. We studied circulating levels of acyl and desacyl ghrelin in rats after these surgeries. We found that blood levels of ghrelin were reduced after VSG, but not after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and mass-spectrometry analyses. We compared the effects of VSG in ghrelin-deficient mice and wild-type mice on food intake, body weight, dietary fat preference, and glucose tolerance. We found that VSG produced comparable outcomes in each strain. Reduced ghrelin signaling therefore does not appear to be required for these effects of VSG.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest

This author discloses the following: Matthias Tschöp is a consultant to Roche Pharmaceuticals and Ethicon Endo-Surgery. The remaining authors disclose no conflicts.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A significant effect of surgery was observed in (A) acyl and (B) desacyl (P < .001) ghrelin levels collected from VSG (n = 7), RYGB (n = 4), pair-fed (n = 10), and sham-operated rats (n = 10) at different times during postoperative days 68–72 (P < .05). Circulating levels of acyl and desacyl ghrelin were reduced significantly compared with values in sham-operated rats (*P < .05), pair-fed ($P < .05), and RYGB (#P< .05) animals (Bonferroni multiple comparisons tests). Ad lib, ad libitum.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Metabolic effects of VSG in ghrelin KO (n = 10) and wild-type (WT) (n = 9) mice relative to sham-operated mice (n = 7 of 7). (A) Ghrelin deficiency was confirmed in KO mice using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for total ghrelin (*P < .05). (B) Cumulative food intake 45 days after surgery and (C) body weight were reduced by VSG relative to sham-operated mice in both genotypes (*P < .05). (D) Body composition data measured on postoperative day 42 show reductions in fat mass in VSG compared with sham mice (*P < .05), with no effect on lean mass (P > .05). (E) A mixed-meal tolerance test on postoperative day 28 shows improvements in oral glucose tolerance in VSG mice relative to sham-operated mice (*P < .05). (F) Food selection test shows VSG mice ate more calories in the form of carbohydrates and fewer calories from fat than sham-operated mice (*P < .05) (Bonferroni multiple comparisons tests).
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