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Updated: Dec 3, 2025

Real-time Analysis of Gut-brain Neural Communication: Cortex wide Calcium Dynamics in Response to Intestinal Glucose Stimulation
Published on: December 29, 2023
Functional interaction between Ghrelin and GLP-1 regulates feeding through the vagal afferent system
Weidong Zhang1, T M Zaved Waise1,2, Koji Toshinai1,3
1Division of Neurology, Respirology, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, 5200 Kihara, Kiyotake, Miyazaki, 889-1692, Japan.
Abstract:
The gastrointestinal tract transmits feeding-regulatory signals to the brain via neuronal and hormonal pathways. Here we studied the interaction between the orexigenic gastric peptide, ghrelin, and the anorectic intestinal peptide, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), in terms of feeding regulation via the vagal afferents. GLP-1 preadministration 30 min before ghrelin administration to rats and mice abolished ghrelin-induced food intake, while ghrelin preadministration abolished the anorectic effect of GLP-1. Ghrelin preadministration suppressed GLP-1-induced Fos expression in the nodose ganglia (NG). Electrophysiological assessment confirmed that the initially administered peptide abolished the vagal afferent electrical alteration induced by the subsequently administered peptide. Both the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR) and the GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) are co-localised in a major proportion of NG neurons that innervate the stomach. In these Ghsr+Glp1r+ neurons, ghrelin preadministration abolished the GLP-1-induced calcium response. Ghrelin generated a hyperpolarising current and GLP-1 generated a depolarising current in isolated NG neurons in a patch-clamp experiment. Ghrelin and GLP-1 potently influenced each other in terms of vagally mediated feeding regulation. This peptidergic interaction allows for fine control of the electrophysiological properties of NG neurons.
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