Stomach secretes estrogen in response to the blood triglyceride levels

Takao Ito,Yuta Yamamoto,Naoko Yamagishi,Yoshimitsu Kanai

doi:10.1038/s42003-021-02901-9

Takao Ito, Yuta Yamamoto + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02901-9

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Journal: Communications Biology	Publication Date: Dec 1, 2021
Citations: 3	License type: open-access

Affiliation: Wakayama Medical University

Abstract

Mammals receive body energy information to maintain energy homeostasis. Ghrelin, insulin, leptin and vagal afferents transmit the status of fasting, blood glucose, body fat, and food intake, respectively. Estrogen also inhibits feeding behavior and lipogenesis, but increases body fat mass. However, how blood triglyceride levels are monitored and the physiological roles of estrogen from the perspective of lipid homeostasis remain unsettled. Here, we show that stomach secretes estrogen in response to the blood triglyceride levels. Estrogen-secreting gastric parietal cells predominantly use fatty acids as an energy source. Blood estrogen levels increase as blood triglyceride levels rise in a stomach-dependent manner. Estrogen levels in stomach tissues increase as blood triglyceride levels rise, and isolated gastric gland epithelium produces estrogen in a fatty acid-dependent manner. We therefore propose that stomach monitors and controls blood triglyceride levels using estrogen, which inhibits feeding behavior and lipogenesis, and promotes triglyceride uptake by adipocytes.

Highlights

Mammals receive body energy information to maintain energy homeostasis
This secretion is similar to that of insulin, which is secreted from pancreatic β-cells, enters the portal vein, and directly acts on the liver to keep appropriate blood glucose levels21,22. β-cells, which sense the blood glucose levels, predominantly use glucose[23] (Supplementary Fig. 1b), and parietal cells require energy (NADPH) in the production of estrogen (e.g., 3 x NADPH from testosterone, Fig. 1a)
Triglyceride and glucose are major sources of energy for mammals, so we examined the expression of the enzymes used in the energy generation from fatty acids and glucose in gastric mucosa of male rats (Fig. 1c, d)

Summary

Introduction

Mammals receive body energy information to maintain energy homeostasis. Ghrelin, insulin, leptin and vagal afferents transmit the status of fasting, blood glucose, body fat, and food intake, respectively. Estrogen levels in stomach tissues increase as blood triglyceride levels rise, and isolated gastric gland epithelium produces estrogen in a fatty acid-dependent manner. We propose that stomach monitors and controls blood triglyceride levels using estrogen, which inhibits feeding behavior and lipogenesis, and promotes triglyceride uptake by adipocytes. Several mechanisms for sensing and informing the body’s energy status have been clarified, including fasting (ghrelin, from the stomach), blood glucose (insulin and glucagon, from the pancreas), body fat (leptin, from adipose tissues), and ingested nutrients (vagus nerves and gutsecreted peptides, e.g., glucagon-like peptide 1 [GLP1], gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP), cholecystokinin [CCK], and peptide YY [PYY], from the intestines and the liver) levels[2,3,4,5,6]. We propose a model that stomach secretes estrogen to lower the blood triglyceride levels when they are high

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