Review
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World J Gastroenterol. Dec 7, 2012; 18(45): 6552-6559
Published online Dec 7, 2012. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i45.6552
Way back for fructose and liver metabolism: Bench side to molecular insights
Alba Rebollo, Núria Roglans, Marta Alegret, Juan C Laguna
Alba Rebollo, Núria Roglans, Marta Alegret, Juan C Laguna, Pharmacology Unit, School of Pharmacy, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Núria Roglans, Marta Alegret, Juan C Laguna, Biomedical Network Research Centre in Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Author contributions: Rebollo A and Roglans N obtained the experimental data; Alegret M and Laguna JC designed the research and analyzed the data; and Laguna JC wrote the paper.
Supported by Fundació Privada Catalana de Nutrició i Lípids; and Grant SAF2010-15664 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
Correspondence to: Juan C Laguna, Professor, Pharmacology Unit, School of Pharmacy, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain. jclagunae@ub.edu
Telephone: +34-93-34024530 Fax: +34-93-4035982
Received: June 20, 2012
Revised: September 26, 2012
Accepted: September 29, 2012
Published online: December 7, 2012
Abstract

The World Health Organization recommends that the daily intake of added sugars should make up no more than 10% of total energy. The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is the main source of added sugars. Fructose, together with glucose, as a component of high fructose corn syrups or as a component of the sucrose molecule, is one of the main sweeteners present in this kind of beverages. Data from prospective and intervention studies clearly point to high fructose consumption, mainly in the form of sweetened beverages, as a risk factor for several metabolic diseases in humans. The incidence of hypertension, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), dyslipidemia (mainly hypertriglyceridemia), insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, and the cluster of many of these pathologies in the form of metabolic syndrome is higher in human population segments that show high intake of fructose. Adolescent and young adults from low-income families are especially at risk. We recently reviewed evidence from experimental animals and human data that confirms the deleterious effect of fructose on lipid and glucose metabolism. In this present review we update the information generated in the past 2 years about high consumption of fructose-enriched beverages and the occurrence of metabolic disturbances, especially NAFLD, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome. We have explored recent data from observational and experimental human studies, as well as experimental data from animal and cell models. Finally, using information generated in our laboratory and others, we provide a view of the molecular mechanisms that may be specifically involved in the development of liver lipid and glucose metabolic alterations after fructose consumption in liquid form.

Keywords: Obesity; Metabolic syndrome; Hypertension; Dyslipidemia; Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Clinical studies; Experimental studies; Sweetened beverages