Objective Vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) produces high rates of type 2 diabetes remission; however, the mechanisms responsible remain incompletely defined. VSG increases circulating bile acid concentrations and bile acid signalling through TGR5 improves glucose homeostasis. Therefore, we investigated the role of TGR5 signalling in mediating the glucoregulatory benefits of VSG. Design VSG or sham surgery was performed in high-fat-fed male Tgr5+/+ (wild type) and Tgr5−/− (knockout) littermates. Sham-operated mice were fed ad libitum or food restricted to match their body weight to VSG-operated mice. Body weight, food intake, energy expenditure, insulin signalling and circulating bile acid profiles were measured and oral glucose tolerance testing, islet immunohistochemistry and gut microbial profiling were performed. Results VSG decreased food intake and body weight, increased energy expenditure and circulating bile acid concentrations, improved fasting glycaemia, glucose tolerance and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, enhanced nutrient-stimulated glucagon-like peptide 1 secretion and produced favourable shifts in gut microbial populations in both genotypes. However, the body weight-independent improvements in fasting glycaemia, glucose tolerance, hepatic insulin signalling, hepatic infiammation and islet morphology after VSG were attenuated in Tgr5−/− relative to Tgr5+/+ mice. Furthermore, VSG produced metabolically favourable alterations in circulating bile acid profiles that were blunted in Tgr5−/− relative to Tgr5+/+ mice. TGR5-dependent regulation of hepatic Cyp8b1 expression may have contributed to TGR5-mediated shifts in the circulating bile acid pool after VSG. Conclusions These results suggest that TGR5 contributes to the glucoregulatory benefits of VSG surgery by promoting metabolically favourable shifts in the circulating bile acid pool.

Vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) produces high rates of type 2 diabetes remission; however, the mechanisms responsible for this remain incompletely defined. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a gut hormone that contributes to the maintenance of glucose homeostasis and is elevated after VSG. VSG-induced increases in postprandial GLP-1 secretion have been proposed to contribute to the glucoregulatory benefits of VSG; however, previous work has been equivocal. In order to test the contribution of enhanced β-cell GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) signaling we used a β-cell-specific tamoxifen-inducible GLP-1R knockout mouse model. Male β-cell-specific Glp-1r(β-cell+/+) wild type (WT) and Glp-1r(β-cell-/-) knockout (KO) littermates were placed on a high-fat diet for 6 weeks and then switched to high-fat diet supplemented with tamoxifen for the rest of the study. Mice underwent sham or VSG surgery after 2 weeks of tamoxifen diet and were fed ad libitum postoperatively. Mice underwent oral glucose tolerance testing at 3 weeks and were euthanized at 6 weeks after surgery. VSG reduced body weight and food intake independent of genotype. However, glucose tolerance was only improved in VSG WT compared with sham WT, whereas VSG KO had impaired glucose tolerance relative to VSG WT. Augmentation of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion during the oral glucose tolerance test was blunted in VSG KO compared with VSG WT. Therefore, our data suggest that enhanced β-cell GLP-1R signaling contributes to improved glucose regulation after VSG by promoting increased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.

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SUMMARYBariatric surgery, such as vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG), causes high rates of type 2 diabetes remission and remarkable increases in postprandial glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion. GLP-1 plays a critical role in islet function by potentiating glucose-stimulated insulin secretion; however, the mechanisms remain incompletely defined. Therefore, we applied a murine VSG model to an inducible β cell-specific GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) knockout mouse model to investigate the role of the β cell GLP-1R in islet function. Our data show that loss of β cell GLP-1R signaling decreases α cell GLP-1 expression after VSG. Furthermore, we find a β cell GLP-1R-dependent increase in α cell expression of the prohormone convertase required for the production of GLP-1 after VSG. Together, the findings herein reveal two concepts. First, our data support a paracrine role for α cell-derived GLP-1 in the metabolic benefits observed after VSG. Second, we have identified a role for the β cell GLP-1R as a regulator of α cell proglucagon processing.

Bariatric surgery, such as vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG), causes remarkable improvements in cardiometabolic health, including hypertension remission. However, the mechanisms responsible remain undefined and poorly studied. Therefore, we developed and validated the first murine model of VSG that recapitulates the blood pressure-lowering effect of VSG using gold-standard radiotelemetry technology. We used this model to investigate several potential mechanisms, including body mass, brain endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling and brain inflammatory signaling, which are all critical contributors to the pathogenesis of obesity-associated hypertension. Mice fed on a high-fat diet underwent sham or VSG surgery and radiotelemeter implantation. Sham mice were fed ad libitum or were food restricted to match their body mass to VSG-operated mice to determine the role of body mass in the ability of VSG to lower blood pressure. Blood pressure was then measured in freely moving unstressed mice by radiotelemetry. VSG decreased energy intake, body mass and fat mass. Mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) was reduced in VSG-operated mice compared with both sham-operated groups. VSG-induced reductions in MAP were accompanied by a body mass-independent decrease in hypothalamic ER stress, hypothalamic inflammation and sympathetic nervous system tone. Assessment of gut microbial populations revealed VSG-induced increases in the relative abundance of Gammaproteobacteria and Enterococcus, and decreases in Adlercreutzia. These results suggest that VSG reduces blood pressure, but this is only partly due to the reduction in body weight. VSG-induced reductions in blood pressure may be driven by a decrease in hypothalamic ER stress and inflammatory signaling, and shifts in gut microbial populations.