Intestinal glucose sensing and regulation of intestinal glucose absorption

Abstract

SGLT1 (Na+/glucose co-transporter 1) transports the dietary sugars, D-glucose and D-galactose, from the lumen of the intestine into enterocytes. SGLT1 regulation has important consequences for the provision of glucose to the respiring tissues and is therefore essential for maintaining glucose homoeostasis. SGLT1 expression is directly regulated in response to changes in the sugar content of the diet. To monitor these variations, there is a requirement for a glucose-sensing system located on the luminal membrane of gut cells. This short review focuses on recent findings on intestinal sugar sensing and the downstream mechanisms responsible for enhancement in SGLT1 expression.