Real-time measurements for gut motility in conscious rats or mice combined with intracerebroventricular or intravenous injection of peptide agonists or antagonists allow us to understand the regulatory mechanism of gastrointestinal motility. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the arcuate nucleus in the hypothalamus stimulates the fasted motility in the duodenum, while urocortin in the paraventricular nucl...

Gut hormones play key roles in the regulation of energy homeostasis. However, little is known about the long- and short-term effects of changing dietary fat content on gut hormones. We aim to examine the effects of changing dietary fat content on plasma gut hormone concentrations in diet-induced obese (DIO) and diet-resistant (DR) rats. After inducing obesity with a high-fat (HF) diet, male Spr...

Obestatin (OB(1-23) is a 23 amino acid peptide encoded on the preproghrelin gene, originally reported to have metabolic actions related to food intake, gastric emptying and body weight. The biological instability of OB(1-23) has recently been highlighted by studies demonstrating its rapid enzymatic cleavage in a number of biological matrices. We assessed the stability of both OB(1-23) and an N-...

During hunger, a series of high-amplitude contractions of the stomach and small intestine (phase III), which form part of a cycle of quiescence and contractions (known as the migrating motor complex, MMC), play a "housekeeping" role prior to the next meal, and may contribute toward the development of hunger. Several gastrointestinal (GI) hormones are associated with phase III MMC activity, but ...

Ingestion of food affects secretion of hormones from enteroendocrine cells located in the gastrointestinal mucosa. These hormones are involved in the regulation of various gastrointestinal functions including the control of food intake. One cell in the stomach, the X/A-like has received much attention over the past years due to the production of ghrelin. Until now, ghrelin is the only known ore...