Metabolism: Why high-protein diets work.

摘要

Protein-rich diets are known to suppress appetite. Mithieux and colleagues now provide a mechanism for this well-known phenomenon by showing that peptides derived from dietary proteins act as antagonists on mu-opioid receptors (MORs) on neurons in the wall of the portal vein. The resulting signal to the brain promotes gluconeogenesis in the gut, which acts as a satiety signal to reduce food intake. The authors had previously shown, in rodents, that the consumption of a protein-rich diet induces intestinal gluconeogenesis and that this phenomenon is required for the appetite-reducing effect of such a diet.