Physiology of the Enteroendocrine System. (360G-Wellcome-106262_Z_14_Z)

Our ambitions are to elucidate the mechanisms governing gut hormone secretion and action, to identify associations between diet, enteroendocrine hormone secretion and human health/disease, and to harness the endogenous enteroendocrine system for the treatment of diabetes and obesity. Our proposed research programme encompasses experimental approaches ranging from molecular and single cell biology to rodent and human physiology, and is based around the following questions: Which signalling me chanisms determine the patterns of hormone secretion at the level of enteroendocrine cell (EEC) populations and single cells? Does the location of an EEC along the gut axis impact on the physiological effect of its secreted hormone, or does it not matter as long as the plasma levels are changed? What are the physiological basis and metabolic consequences of the variability in gut hormone secretion found within the human population? How is the differential secretion of insulin-like peptid e-5 (Insl5) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) controlled? What are the metabolic consequences of Insl5 and GLP-1 action at their target tissues?