Changes in cerebral expression of ERK 1/2 related to commercial sweetener consumption in BALB/c mice

Abstract

Non‐nutritive sweeteners are food additives that provide sweet taste with low energy content. Consumption of these compounds has become a common practice in the general population to reduce calorie intake from the diet. Nonetheless, there is evidence suggesting consumption of non‐nutritive sweeteners can induce changes in feeding behavior, altering energy intake, body weight and adiposity.Previous studies have revealed that intake of sucralose and steviol glycosides lead to changes in the JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway in the brain of mice, altering food intake patterns, body weight and adiposity. However, the effect of these compounds on other signaling pathways, such as MAPK and ERK 1/2 in particular, which are also involved in the regulation of food intake in the central nervous system, has not been studied.The main objective of this project is to determine the effects of frequent intake of sucrose, sucralose or steviol glycosides on the expression of total and phosphorylated ERK 1/2 protein in the brain of BALB/c mice.To this end, 8 week‐old BALB/c male and female mice were supplemented with sucrose, sucralose or steviol glycosides for 6 weeks in their daily drinking water. Subsequently, total brain protein extracts were used to analyze the expression of total and phosphorylated ERK 1/2 proteins by western blot.Our preliminary results show that expression of pERK was reduced in male mice supplemented steviol glycosides compared to non‐supplemented controls, while sucrose and sucralose groups has increased expression of pERK. In contrast, female animals supplemented with sucrose had decreased expression of pERK, which was increased in the steviol glycosides group compared to non‐supplemented controls. No differences were observed in total ERK expression among groups.In conclusion, our preliminary results suggest that chronic consumption of non‐nutritive sweeteners may induce sex‐specific alterations in the ERK signaling pathway, with possible effects on feeding behavior and body weight in vivo.