Reprogramming of Intestinal Glucose Metabolism and Glycemic Control in Rats After Gastric Bypass

Abstract

Glucose Control Goes Out on a Limb Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, a surgical procedure used to induce weight loss in morbidly obese patients, often leads to permanent remission of diabetes, even when patients regain weight. Studying a rat model, Saeidi et al. (p. 406 ; see Perspective by Berthoud ) found that the surgically reconfigured intestinal segment (the Roux limb) underwent an adaptive response characterized by increased glucose uptake and utilization, apparently triggered by exposure to undigested nutrients. As a result of this change, the intestine provided a major tissue for whole-body glucose control. Whether the same adaptive response occurs in the human intestine remains to be examined.