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Updated: Sep 20, 2026

Real-time Analysis of Gut-brain Neural Communication: Cortex wide Calcium Dynamics in Response to Intestinal Glucose Stimulation
Published on: December 29, 2023
Short-term food restriction and refeeding alter expression of genes likely involved in brain glucosensing
Jun Zhou1, David S Roane, Xiaochun Xi
1Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808, USA. Zhouj@pbrc.edu
Abstract:
Several genes involved in glucosensing of the endocrine pancreas have been proposed to serve a similar function in the brain. These genes include the glucose transporter-2 (Glut-2) and glucokinase (GK). In addition, the glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor, which serves as a downstream signal modulator in pancreatic glucosensing and centrally alters feeding, is also of interest. We used quantitative real-time RT-PCR to measure changes in hypothalamic and brainstem Glut-2, GK, and Glp-1R expression of these genes induced by food restriction and refeeding. Sprague-Dawley rats were 50% food restricted for 1 day; one-half of the food-restricted rats were refed with chow for 1 hr before sacrifice. In both hypothalamus and brainstem, gene expression of Glut-2, GK, and Glp-1R was significantly lower in refed rats compared with food-restricted rats. The measures of gene expression in two feeding control groups (ad libitum and voluntarily overfed animals) were intermediate between the food-restricted and refed groups, but were not significantly different from each other. The results indicate that putative glucosensing (GK, Glut-2, and Glp-1R) gene expression in the hypothalamus and brainstem is reduced in response to food intake, depending on prior nutritional status.
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