Gut peptide signals in the control of food intake.

ABSTRACT

Extract During and following a meal, ingested nutrients come into contact with multiple sites in the gastrointestinal tract that have the potential to alter peptide and neural signaling. Such signals can serve as feedback mediators influencing current or subsequent food intake. Ingested nutrients accumulate within the stomach, activating gastric mechanoreceptors and providing a signal of gastric fullness. Even during a meal, some ingested nutrients pass from the stomach and contact intestinal receptors. Such contact results in gastrointestinal peptide release and the activation of neural fibers producing reflex alterations in gastrointestinal motor and secretory activity and providing feedback information about the volume and nature of ingested nutrients that could alter the size of the current meal or affect subsequent eating. Recent work has characterized the ability of multiple gut peptides to affect eating and, consistent with their different patterns of release around meals, various roles for these peptides in overall eating control have been suggested. With the current rapid increase in rates of obesity, peripheral peptides with the ability to affect food intake provide attractive targets for antiobesity drug development.