Alteration of nutrient preferences via modulation of nutrient receptors in the gut
AssigneeThe Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York
InventorsMengtong Li, Charles S. Zuker, Zhengyuan Lu
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Abstract
Provided herein are methods of regulating a subject's preference for fat and/or sugar and methods of screening a substance for an ability to activate a nutrient receptor in a subject's gut.
Claims15
A method of regulating a subject's preference for fat and/or sugar, the method comprising administering to the subject a molecule that activates or inhibits one or more of a GPR40 receptor, a GPR120 receptor, and a CCK signaling pathway.
The method of any one of the previous claims, wherein activation of vagal sensory neurons is increased or decreased.
A method of screening a substance for an ability to activate or reduce activation of a nutrient receptor in a subject's gut, the method comprising:
- administering a substance to a subject wherein the subject's vagal sensory neurons express a genetically encoded calcium indicator (GECI);
- imaging the vagal sensory neurons of the subject;
- and
- detecting a presence or absence of a signal from the GECI, wherein the presence of the signal in a region of the subject's vagal sensory neurons that are responsive to nutrient receptor activation in the gut indicates that the substance activates the nutrient receptor, or wherein a reduction of the signal in a region of the subject's vagal sensory neurons that are otherwise responsive to nutrient receptor activation in the gut indicates that the substance inhibits the nutrient receptor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.