Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Jan;5(1):4-14.
doi: 10.1177/2040622313506730.

The future role of gut hormones in the treatment of obesity

Rachel C Troke  1 , Tricia M Tan  1 , Steve R Bloom  2
Affiliations
Review

The future role of gut hormones in the treatment of obesity

Rachel C Troke et al. Ther Adv Chronic Dis. 2014 Jan.

Abstract

The obesity pandemic presents a significant burden, both in terms of healthcare and economic outcomes, and current medical therapies are inadequate to deal with this challenge. Bariatric surgery is currently the only therapy available for obesity which results in long-term, sustained weight loss. The favourable effects of this surgery are thought, at least in part, to be mediated via the changes of gut hormones such as GLP-1, PYY, PP and oxyntomodulin seen following the procedure. These hormones have subsequently become attractive novel targets for the development of obesity therapies. Here, we review the development of these gut peptides as current and emerging therapies in the treatment of obesity.

Keywords: GLP-1; obesity; oxyntomodulin; peptide YY; therapeutic.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest in preparing this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Interactions of the gut-brain axis. Solid line indicates positive feedback, and dashed line indicates negative feedback. Peptide YY (PYY), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and oxyntomodulin (OXM) all provide negative feedback to appetite-regulating areas within the hypothalamus on sensing an oral nutrient load. Pancreatic polypeptide (PP) from pancreatic islets is also anorectic, signalling via central appetite centres in the hypothalamus. Ghrelin is orexigenic, providing positive feedback to the hypothalamic nuclei, and activating neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurones to increase food intake.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Acosta A., Hurtado M., Gorbatyuk O., La Sala M., Duncan D., Aslanidi G., et al. (2011) Salivary PYY: a putative bypass to satiety. PLoS One 6(10): e26137. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Adrian T., Bloom S., Bryant M., Polak J., Heitz P., Barnes A. (1976) Distribution and release of human pancreatic polypeptide. Gut 17: 940–944 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Adrian T., Greenberg G., Besterman H., Bloom S. (1978) Pharmacokinetics of pancreatic polypeptide in man. Gut 19: 907–909 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Asakawa A., Inui A., Kaga T., Katsuura G., Fujimiya M., Fujino M., et al. (2003a) Antagonism of ghrelin receptor reduces food intake and body weight gain in mice. Gut 52: 947–952 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Asakawa A., Inui A., Yuzuriha H., Ueno N., Katsuura G., Fujimiya M., et al. (2003b) Characterization of the effects of pancreatic polypeptide in the regulation of energy balance. Gastroenterology 124(5): 1325–1336 - PubMed