Effects of sleeve gastrectomy plus trunk vagotomy compared with sleeve gastrectomy on glucose metabolism in diabetic rats

AIM: To investigate the effects of sleeve gastrectomy plus trunk vagotomy (SGTV) compared with sleeve gastrectomy (SG) in a diabetic rat model. METHODS: SGTV, SG, TV and Sham operations were performed on rats with diabetes induced by high-fat diet and streptozotocin. Body weight, food intake, oral glucose tolerance test, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), hepatic insulin signaling (IR, IRS1, IRS2, PI3K and AKT), oral glucose stimulated insulin secretion, GLP-1 and ghrelin were compared at various postoperative times. RESULTS: Both SG and SGTV resulted in better glucose tolerance, lower HOMA-IR, up-regulated hepatic insulin signaling, higher levels of oral glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, higher postprandial GLP-1 and lower fasting ghrelin levels than the TV and Sham groups. No significant differences were observed between the SG and SGTV groups. In addition, no significant differences were found between the TV and Sham groups in terms of glucose tolerance, HOMA-IR, hepatic insulin signaling, oral glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, postprandial GLP-1 and fasting ghrelin levels. No differences in body weight and food intake were noted between the four groups. CONCLUSION: SGTV is feasible for diabetes control and is independent of weight loss. However, SGTV did not result in a better improvement in diabetes than SG alone.