Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 16, 2025

Using Multi-fluorinated Bile Acids and In Vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Measure Bile Acid Transport
Published on: November 27, 2016
Alterations in intestinal bile acid transport provide a therapeutic target in patients with post-bariatric
Snehal N Chaudhari1,2, Yingjia Chen3, Rafael Ferraz-Bannitz4
1Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Abstract:
While Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is an effective treatment for obesity and type 2 diabetes, up to one-third of patients develop post-bariatric hypoglycaemia (PBH). Individuals with PBH exhibit increased postprandial secretion of the intestinal hormone fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19, Fgf15 in mice). However, the underlying mechanisms contributing to PBH remain uncertain. Here we demonstrate that faecal and plasma bile acid (BA) profiles are significantly altered in postoperative individuals with PBH versus those without hypoglycaemia. Furthermore, altered BAs in PBH induce FGF19 secretion in intestinal cells in a manner dependent on the apical sodium-dependent BA transporter (ASBT). We demonstrate that ASBT inhibition reduces Fgf15 expression and increases postprandial glucose in hypoglycaemic mice. Our data suggest that dysregulation of luminal BA profiles and transport may contribute to PBH and provide proof of concept that ASBT inhibition could be developed as a new therapeutic strategy for PBH.
Related Concept Videos
Oral Hypoglycemic Agents: α-Glucosidase Inhibitors
Acarbose and miglitol are...
Inflammatory Bowel Disease III: Diagnostic Studies and Management I-Nutritional Therapy
Diagnostic studies
A colonoscopy is the definitive screening test, distinguishing ulcerative colitis from other colon diseases with similar symptoms. During a colonoscopy test, inflamed mucosa with exudate ulcerations can be observed, and biopsies are taken to determine the histologic characteristics of the...
Lipid Digestion
Anatomy of the Intestines
Small Intestines
The small intestine is an ~7 meter-long tube with an inner diameter of just 2.5 cm. Since most nutrients are absorbed here, the inner lining of the...
Glucose Absorption Into the Small Intestine
Hepatic Drug Excretion: Influencing Factors

