Consumption Of Low-Calories Sweeteners Associated With Upregulation Of Gene Expression For Glucose Transporters,

http://www.mdedge.com/clinicalendocrinologynews/article/135906/obesity/low-calorie-sweeteners-may-allow-more-glucose-enter Individuals in both groups had kept a 7-day food diary before the biopsies were taken, so Dr. Sen and his coinvestigators knew whether or not they had consumed low-calorie sweeteners and in what quantity. Reported sweeteners were sucralose, acesulfame-potassium, and aspartame. The adipose tissue biopsies were examined for mRNA expression of adipogenic genes, as well as for glucose transporters and inflammatory markers. In individuals with low-calorie sweetener exposure, the glucose transporter GLUT1 was overexpressed by 2- to 2.2-fold, while the glucose transporter GLUT4 was overexpressed by a factor of 2.7-4.3. In addition, low-calorie sweetener consumption was associated with up to 2.5-fold overexpression of the sweet taste receptor TAS1R3. Sweet taste receptors are G protein–coupled receptors that are present in taste buds and in other tissues, serving as carbohydrate sensors. Adipogenic genes were also overexpressed; a 1.5- to 2.4-fold increase was seen in PPARG, for example.