Department of Agri-Food Sciences and Technologies (DISTAL), University of Bologna, Piazza Goidanich 60, 47521 Cesena, Italy.
Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (Defens), University of Milan, via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy.
Nutrients. 2022 Jan 25;14(3):517. doi: 10.3390/nu14030517.
Although epidemiological studies indicate a strong correlation between high sugar intake and metabolic diseases, the biological mechanisms underlying this link are still controversial. To further examine the modification and crosstalk occurring in enterocyte metabolism during sugar absorption, in this study we evaluate the diffusion and intestinal metabolism of glucose, fructose and sucrose, which were supplemented in equimolar concentration to Caco-2 cells grown on polyester membrane inserts. At different time points after supplementation, changes in metabolite concentration were evaluated in the apical and basolateral chambers by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gas-chromatography (GC). Sucrose was only minimally hydrolyzed by Caco-2 cells. Upon supplementation, we observed a faster uptake of fructose than glucose, the pentose sugar being also faster catabolized. Monosaccharide absorption was concomitant to the synthesis/transport of other metabolites, which occurred differently in glucose and fructose supplemented cells. Our results confirm the prominent role of intestinal cells in fructose metabolism and clearance after absorption, representing a further step forward in the understanding of the role of dietary sugars. Future research, including targeted analysis on specific transporters/enzymes and the use of labeled substrates, will be helpful to confirm the present results and their interpretation.
尽管流行病学研究表明高糖摄入与代谢疾病之间存在很强的相关性,但这一关联的生物学机制仍存在争议。为了进一步研究在糖吸收过程中肠细胞代谢中发生的修饰和串扰,本研究评估了以等摩尔浓度补充到聚酯膜插入物上生长的 Caco-2 细胞中的葡萄糖、果糖和蔗糖的扩散和肠道代谢。在补充后的不同时间点,通过核磁共振(NMR)和气相色谱(GC)评估顶室和底室中代谢物浓度的变化。蔗糖仅被 Caco-2 细胞轻微水解。补充后,我们观察到果糖的摄取速度快于葡萄糖,戊糖的代谢速度也更快。单糖的吸收伴随着其他代谢物的合成/转运,这在葡萄糖和果糖补充的细胞中发生方式不同。我们的结果证实了肠道细胞在吸收后果糖代谢和清除中的突出作用,这是对饮食中糖的作用的进一步理解。未来的研究,包括对特定转运体/酶的靶向分析和使用标记底物,将有助于证实目前的结果及其解释。