Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2018. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 21, 2018; 24(35): 4028-4035
Published online Sep 21, 2018. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i35.4028
Adiponectin affects the mechanical responses in strips from the mouse gastric fundus
Eglantina Idrizaj, Rachele Garella, Giovanni Castellini, Hermine Mohr, Natalia S Pellegata, Fabio Francini, Valdo Ricca, Roberta Squecco, Maria Caterina Baccari
Eglantina Idrizaj, Rachele Garella, Fabio Francini, Roberta Squecco, Maria Caterina Baccari, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Section of Physiological Sciences, University of Florence, Florence 50134, Italy
Giovanni Castellini, Valdo Ricca, Psychiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence 50134, Italy
Hermine Mohr, Natalia S Pellegata, Institute for Diabetes and Cancer, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg 85764, Germany
Author contributions: Idrizaj E and Garella R contributed equally to this work; Idrizaj E and Garella R performed the functional experiments; Idrizaj E and Mohr H performed the PCR analysis; Castellini G, Ricca V, Squecco R and Baccari MC designed the research study; Pellegata NS and Francini F contributed to design the research study; Idrizaj E, Garella R and Baccari MC analyzed the data; Baccari MC wrote the paper; Idrizaj E, Garella R, Castellini G, Mohr H, Pellegata NS, Francini F, Ricca V, Squecco R and Baccari MC critically revised the manuscript.
Supported by the Florence University (No. RTD CO 090101010107; RICATEN14) and Fondazione CRF (No. 2017.0777).
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: The experimental protocol was designed in compliance with the guidelines of the European Communities Council Directive 2010/63/UE and the recommendations for the care and use of laboratory animals approved by the Animal Care Committee of the University of Florence, Italy, with authorization from the Italian Ministry of Health nr. 787/2016-PR.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are declared by the authors.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Maria Caterina Baccari, PhD, Professor, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Section of Physiological Sciences, University of Florence, Viale G.B. Morgagni 63, Florence 50134, Italy. mcaterina.baccari@unifi.it
Telephone: +39-55-2751600 Fax: +39-55-4379506
Received: June 8, 2018
Peer-review started: June 8, 2018
First decision: July 3, 2018
Revised: July 12, 2018
Accepted: July 22, 2018
Article in press: July 22, 2018
Published online: September 21, 2018
Processing time: 103 Days and 17.4 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

The adipose-tissue derived hormone adiponectin (ADPN) has been reported to have a role as a key neuromodulator of food intake. It is known that gastrointestinal motor phenomena represent a source of peripheral signals involved in the control of feeding behavior. However, no data are available concerning on the effects of ADPN on gastrointestinal motility. This novel information could highlight an additional mechanism engaged by the hormone in the control of food intake.

Research motivation

The finding that ADPN could influence gastric motility might represent an initial step to regard the peripheral effects of the hormone as possible signals involved in the control of food intake. This aspect, that certainly deserves to be deeper investigated, could lead to consider ADPN as a potential candidate for both novel therapeutic strategies in eating disorders and diagnostic tools.

Research objectives

The main objective of the present study was to investigate the influence of ADPN on the mechanical responses and the expression of its receptors in the mouse gastric fundus.

Research methods

For the mechanical experiments, longitudinal muscle strips from the mouse gastric fundus were connected to force displacement transducers for continuous recording of isometric tension. The expression of ADPN receptors in gastric fundal tissue was revealed by touchdown- polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis.

Research results

The present results highlight that, in the mouse gastric strips, ADPN induces inhibitory effects by decreasing the amplitude of the neurally-induced contractile responses, enhancing that of the relaxant ones and causing a decay of the basal tension. Some of these actions appear to be mediated, at least in part, by nitric oxide although further studies are needed to better clarify the mechanism through which the hormone exerts its effects.

Research conclusions

The results of the present study indicate for the first time that ADPN is able to exert inhibitory effects on the mechanical responses of the mouse gastric fundus in which we revealed the expression of ADPN receptors. It could be hypothesized that the hormone effects may be directed to facilitate muscle relaxation, so increasing the distension of the gastric wall that represents a peripheral satiety signal. In this view, the results of the present study may furnish the basis to better explore the link between peripheral and central effects of ADPN in the regulation of food intake.

Research perspectives

The results of the present basic research might furnish a contribution to consider ADPN as a potential candidate for both novel therapeutic strategies in eating disorders and diagnostic tools.