HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 90/3/838S    most recent ajcn.2009.27462Wv1 Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Google Scholar Articles by Tomé, D. Articles by Fromentin, G. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Tomé, D. Articles by Fromentin, G. Agricola Articles by Tomé, D. Articles by Fromentin, G.

Protein, amino acids, vagus nerve signaling, and the brain^1,2,3,4

¹ From the AgroParisTech (DT, JS, and ND) and INRA (GF), UMR914 Nutrition Physiology and Ingestive Behavior, Paris, France.

² Presented at the "100th Anniversary Symposium of Umami Discovery: The Roles of Glutamate in Taste, Gastrointestinal Function, Metabolism, and Physiology," held in Tokyo, Japan, September 10–13, 2008.

³ Supported by AgroParisTech, INRA, and the EEC Marie Curie Research Program NuSisCO.

⁴ Address correspondence to D Tomé, AgroParisTech, 16 rue Claude Bernard, 75005 Paris, France. E-mail: tome{at}agroparistech.fr.

Dietary protein and amino acids, including glutamate, generate signals involved in the control of gastric and intestinal motility, pancreatic secretion, and food intake. They include postprandial meal-induced visceral and metabolic signals and associated nutrients (eg, amino acids and glucose), gut neuropeptides, and hormonal signals. Protein reduces gastric motility and stimulates pancreatic secretions. Protein and amino acids are also more potent than carbohydrate and fat in inducing short-term satiety in animals and humans. High-protein diets lead to activation of the noradrenergic-adrenergic neuronal pathway in the brainstem nucleus of the solitary tract and in melanocortin neurons of the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus. Moreover, some evidence indicates that circulating concentrations of certain amino acids could influence food intake. Leucine modulates the activity of energy and nutrient sensor pathways controlled by AMP-activated protein kinase and mammalian target of rapamycin in the hypothalamus. At the brain level, 2 afferent pathways are involved in protein and amino acid monitoring: the indirect neural (mainly vagus-mediated) and the direct humoral pathways. The neural pathways transfer preabsorptive and visceral information through the vagus nerve that innervates part of the orosensory zone (stomach, duodenum, and liver). Localized in the brainstem, the nucleus of the solitary tract is the main projection site of the vagus nerve and integrates sensory information of oropharyngeal, intestinal, and visceral origins. Ingestion of protein also activates satiety pathways in the arcuate nucleus, which is characterized by an up-regulation of the melanocortin pathway (-melanocyte-stimulating, hormone-containing neurons) and a down-regulation of the neuropeptide Y pathway.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. D Fernstrom Introduction to the symposium Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 705S - 706S. [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. A Hawkins The blood-brain barrier and glutamate Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 867S - 874S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. I Curtis Umami and the foods of classical antiquity Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 712S - 718S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. J Magistretti Role of glutamate in neuron-glia metabolic coupling Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 875S - 880S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. D Fernstrom Symposium summary Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 881S - 885S. [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. K Beauchamp Sensory and receptor responses to umami: an overview of pioneering work Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 723S - 727S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. Chaudhari, E. Pereira, and S. D Roper Taste receptors for umami: the case for multiple receptors Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 738S - 742S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. San Gabriel, T. Maekawa, H. Uneyama, and K. Torii Metabotropic glutamate receptor type 1 in taste tissue Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 743S - 746S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Yasumatsu, N. Horio, Y. Murata, S. Shirosaki, T. Ohkuri, R. Yoshida, and Y. Ninomiya Multiple receptors underlie glutamate taste responses in mice Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 747S - 752S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. C Kinnamon Umami taste transduction mechanisms Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 753S - 755S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. A Bachmanov, M. Inoue, H. Ji, Y. Murata, M. G Tordoff, and G. K Beauchamp Glutamate taste and appetite in laboratory mice: physiologic and genetic analyses Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 756S - 763S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Raliou, A. Wiencis, A.-M. Pillias, A. Planchais, C. Eloit, Y. Boucher, D. Trotier, J.-P. Montmayeur, and A. Faurion Nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms in human tas1r1, tas1r3, and mGluR1 and individual taste sensitivity to glutamate Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 789S - 799S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. F Donaldson, L. Bennett, S. Baic, and J. K Melichar Taste and weight: is there a link? Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 800S - 803S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. T Rolls Functional neuroimaging of umami taste: what makes umami pleasant? Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 804S - 813S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Blachier, C. Boutry, C. Bos, and D. Tome Metabolism and functions of L-glutamate in the epithelial cells of the small and large intestines Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 814S - 821S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Z. Kokrashvili, B. Mosinger, and R. F Margolskee Taste signaling elements expressed in gut enteroendocrine cells regulate nutrient-responsive secretion of gut hormones Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 822S - 825S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Akiba and J. D Kaunitz Luminal chemosensing and upper gastrointestinal mucosal defenses Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 826S - 831S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Yamamoto, M. Tomoe, K. Toyama, M. Kawai, and H. Uneyama Can dietary supplementation of monosodium glutamate improve the health of the elderly? Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 844S - 849S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Q.-Y. Chen, S. Alarcon, A. Tharp, O. M Ahmed, N. L Estrella, T. A Greene, J. Rucker, and P. A. Breslin Perceptual variation in umami taste and polymorphisms in TAS1R taste receptor genes Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 770S - 779S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Kondoh, H. N. Mallick, and K. Torii Activation of the gut-brain axis by dietary glutamate and physiologic significance in energy homeostasis Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 832S - 837S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. G Burrin and B. Stoll Metabolic fate and function of dietary glutamate in the gut Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 850S - 856S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. A Mennella, C. A Forestell, L. K Morgan, and G. K Beauchamp Early milk feeding influences taste acceptance and liking during infancy Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 780S - 788S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. A Stanley Regulation of glutamate metabolism and insulin secretion by glutamate dehydrogenase in hypoglycemic children Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 862S - 866S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. Shigemura, S. Shirosaki, T. Ohkuri, K. Sanematsu, A. S. Islam, Y. Ogiwara, M. Kawai, R. Yoshida, and Y. Ninomiya Variation in umami perception and in candidate genes for the umami receptor in mice and humans Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 764S - 769S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. E Brosnan and J. T Brosnan Hepatic glutamate metabolism: a tale of 2 hepatocytes Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 857S - 861S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Kurihara Glutamate: from discovery as a food flavor to role as a basic taste (umami) Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 719S - 722S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Sano History of glutamate production Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 728S - 732S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. R Krebs The gourmet ape: evolution and human food preferences Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 707S - 711S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				X. Li T1R receptors mediate mammalian sweet and umami taste Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2009; 90(3): 733S - 737S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]