Glucagon-like peptide-2 regulates release of chylomicrons from the intestine.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Glucagon, published as a randomized controlled trial.

The intestine efficiently incorporates and rapidly secretes dietary fat as chylomicrons (lipoprotein particles comprising triglycerides, phospholipids, cholesterol, and proteins) that contain the apolipoprotein isoform apoB-48.

The gut can store lipids for many hours after their ingestion, and release them in chylomicrons in response to oral glucose, sham feeding, or unidentified stimuli.

The gut hormone glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) facilitates intestinal absorption of lipids, but its role in chylomicron secretion in human beings is unknown.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 48 men were involved.

PubMed indexes the participants as adults and middle-aged adults, men only.

Subjects underwent constant intraduodenal feeding, with a pancreatic clamp and primed constant infusion of deuterated leucine.

In a separate randomized, single-blind, cross-over validation study, 6 additional healthy men ingested a high-fat meal containing retinyl palmitate and were given either GLP-2 or placebo 7 hours later with measurement of TRL triglyceride, TRL retinyl palmitate, and TRL apoB-48 levels.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover study.

The men were allocated by chance, so the Glucagon group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Only one side, usually the men, was kept unaware of whether Glucagon was given.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Glucagon could be set against what happens without it.

Each person switched between Glucagon and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Apolipoprotein B-100, Apolipoprotein B-48, Chylomicrons, Dietary Fats, Diterpenes, Dyslipidemias and Gastrointestinal Agents.

Author keywords: Enterocyte, Fatty Acid, Human Trial and Plasma Lipid.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, single-blind and placebo-controlled study of Glucagon in 48 men.

Results are reported in around 6 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2014 (Gastroenterology), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Glucagon compound page, all human trials.