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Satiety gut hormone secretin activates brown adipose tissue
Intestinal hormone secretin activates energy-consuming brown fat
Researchers have found that the long-known intestinal hormone secretin has a newly discovered, extra function: it activates the energy-consuming brown adipose tissue, causing satiety.
Brown adipose tissue helps in weight loss
Because brown fat cells consume energy, experts say they may be the key to losing weight and important for preventing obesity and diabetes. Only a few weeks ago, it was shown that brown adipose tissue is activated as much by food as it is by cold. Now, the same team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Finnish colleagues have elucidated the physiological mechanism of this activation.
A new study has shown that the intestinal hormone secretin has a newly discovered, additional function: it activates the energy-consuming brown fat, causing satiety. The new findings could be helpful in the fight against obesity. (Image: Kurhan / fotolia.com) Long-known intestinal hormone
"Surprisingly, we identified secretin as a decisive factor," reports study leader Professor Martin Klingenspor from the Else Kröner-Fresenius Center for Nutritional Medicine (EKFZ) at the TUM in a statement.
Secretin is a long-known intestinal hormone. Nutritional medicine has until now assumed that this peptide as a messenger essentially fulfills gastrointestinal functions.
Such as stimulating the secretion of water and bicarbonate from the pancreas as soon as the acidified chyme is released from the stomach into the small intestine.
In addition, secretin via the bloodstream as a messenger in the brain to promote satiety. As far as the knowledge until recently.
Satiety in the brain
The new study, published in the journal "Cell", now revealed with molecular biological investigations (transcriptome sequencing) that the gene for the secretin receptor is also expressed in brown adipose tissue.
"If we stimulated this receptor in the brown fat cells with secretin, we could observe an immediate activation of the jitter-free thermogenesis," explains Prof. Klingenspor.
Shatter-free thermogenesis is the typical mechanism of brown heat formation of heat, but not only consumes energy.
The research reveals that Shaker-free thermogenesis is also the prerequisite for the satiety in the brain.
Previously accepted teaching revised
As the message says, there are three possible channels of communication from brown fat to the brain:
- An increase in temperature in the brain,
- Nerve connections from brown fat to the brain, or
- special messengers of brown fat, so-called BATokine.
Professor Klingenspor sees heat formation itself as the most plausible possibility at the moment:
"Thermogenesis in brown fat leads to warming of the blood and a slight increase in temperature in the brain; this activates neurons that signal saturation. "
The previously valid assumption that secretin acts directly on the brain in certain nerve cells, leading to satiety and dampens the feeling of hunger, is revised by these findings.
"Brown adipose tissue is interposed, as it were, like a relay station," says Prof. Klingenspor.
"The right appetizer could fill you up faster"
The newly discovered chain of communication between the gut and the brain begins with secretin release during eating, the consequent activation of brown lipid thermogenesis, and warming in the brain, which increases satiety.
Thus, food-induced thermogenesis in brown fat consumes energy and makes you rich - both important factors in the therapy and prevention of the almost worldwide epidemic of obesity.
Would secretine be the right medicine in this context? "No," clarifies Klingenspor. Because a chronic stimulation of the pancreas would be unfavorable.
However, the scientist sees a way to naturally stimulate the production of secretin through certain foods, "the right appetizer could fill you up faster and thus reduce the intake of calories."
Which nutrients would be considered here is the subject of further studies. (Ad)