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Project

Unraveling the mechanisms that control the release of the gastrointestinal hormone motilin and the pathways through which this stimulates hunger and food intake.

The worldwide increase in the prevalence of obesity is a cause of great concern, as it is associated with several comorbidities and increased mortality, and constitutes a major health-economic burden. Obesity occurs because of an imbalance between energy intake an energy expenditure, but the mechanisms that control food intake are insufficiently understood. Recently, we demonstrated for the first time that plasma levels of the gastrointestinal hormone motilin fluctuate with gastric contractions that signal hunger in between meal. Plasma motilin levels are significantly increased in obese patients and decrease after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery to levels of healthy controls. These observations provide evidence that motilin is involved in the regulation of hunger. The aim of the current project is to study how the release of motilin is regulated and whether motilin contributes to the pathogenesis of obesity. Using a multidisciplinary translational approach, we want to unravel the mechanisms that control motilin release in vitro and in vivo in healthy volunteers and evaluate the interplay between motilin and brain function in the control of reward sensitivity and food intake in vivo in both healthy volunteers and obese patients.

Date:1 Jan 2017 →  31 Dec 2020
Keywords:food intake, gastrointestinal hormone motilin, hunger
Disciplines:Gastro-enterology and hepatology