Long-term observation of gastrectomized rats with regard to development of vitamin B12 deficiency

Vertical sleeve gastrectomy improves glucose and lipid metabolism and delays diabetes onset in UCD-T2DM rats

Vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) has gained interest as a low morbidity bariatric surgery, which is effective in producing weight loss and causing type 2 diabetes resolution. However, the efficacy of VSG to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes has not been previously investigated. VSG or sham surgery was performed on 2-month-old prediabetic male University of California Davis-type 2 diabetes mellitus rats. Sham-operated animals were either sham-operated ad libitum fed (S-AL) or were weight-matched to VSG-operated animals (S-WM). Diabetes onset was determined by weekly nonfasting blood glucose measurements. Animals underwent oral glucose tolerance tests at 1 and 4 months after surgery and indirect calorimetry at 1.5 months after surgery. VSG surgery significantly delayed diabetes onset compared with both S-AL and S-WM animals. VSG-operated animals ate 23% less and weighed 20% less than S-AL. Energy expenditure did not differ between VSG-operated animals and controls. Results from the oral glucose tolerance tests demonstrate improved glucose tolerance and islet function in VSG-operated animals compared with S-AL and S-WM. Nutrient-stimulated glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1, GLP-2, and peptide YY excursions were greater in VSG-operated animals. VSG surgery resulted in decreased fasting plasma insulin, ghrelin and lipid concentrations, and markedly higher fasting plasma adiponectin and bile acid concentrations, independent of body weight. Increases of circulating bile acid concentrations were due to selective increases of taurine-conjugated bile acids. Thus, VSG delays type 2 diabetes onset in the University of California Davis-type 2 diabetes mellitus rat, independent of body weight. This is potentially mediated by increases of circulating bile acids, adiponectin, and nutrient-stimulated GLP-1 secretion and decreased circulating ghrelin concentrations.

A jejunal pouch as substitute stomach after total gastrectomy. An experimental study in rats

Eight totally gastrectomized rats with a jejunal pouch and nine without a pouch were compared with regard to post-operative intake of food, body weight, haemoglobin concentration, and length of survival. Nine animals subjected to partial gastrectomy with the forestomach intact were used for comparison. (1) After total gastrectomy there was no significant difference between the postoperative course in rats with and without a jejunal pouch. (2) Animals with the forestomach intact showed a significantly better nutritional status and longer survival, indicating an important function of this 'ideal food pouch'. (3) The normal controls survived longer than any of the other groups, probably also demonstrating the importance of the secretory function of the stomach.

Vitamin B12 metabolism in the fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus). The induction of vitamin B12 deficiency and its effect on folate levels

1. Vitamin B12 metabolism was studied in bats of the species Rousettus aegyptiacus, which live on an all-fruit diet in the wild. 2. There was a wide range in values for the serum vitamin B12 concentration of newly captured bats, but bats captured in the early spring had significantly higher mean serum vitamin B12 levels than bats captured in the early autumn. 3. There was an exponential decrease in serum vitamin B12 concentration with time in captivity for bats fed on a vitamin B12-deficient, all-fruit diet; the biological half-life was 80 d in serum, 109 d in liver and 164 d in kidney. 4. The main storage organ for vitamin B12 in the bats was the liver, mean content 1067 ng vitamin B12. After 50 d, injected [57Co]cyanocobalamin had equilibrated with body vitamin B12 stores, and 17% of the retained radioactivity was present in the liver. From these results it was calculated that the total body vitamin B12 content of the bat was c. 6500 ng. 5. The biological half-life of injected [57Co]cyanocobalamin was 70--88 d and the calculated daily requirement was 50--60 ng (0-2 mug/kg body-weight per d). 6. As serum vitamin B12 levels decreased, serum folate levels increased. The erythrocyte folate concentration increased significantly after 130 d on the all-fruit diet and then decreased to the initial values after 190 d. 7. Vitamin B12 metabolism in the fruit bat is similar in many respects to that of man, but on a 'weight-for-weight' basis the bat has a 5- to 15-fold greater requirement for this vitamin. 8. Vitamin B12 deficiency may be induced fairly rapidly in fruit bats fed on an all-fruit diet.