Mice Deficient for an Intestinal G Protein-Coupled Receptor Expression Have Increased Satiety During Rebound Hyperphagia

Gut-derived hormones have been successfully developed as the therapeutic targets to combat the increasing prevalence of diabetes and obesity. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are involved in maintaining glucose and energy homeostasis by regulating the release of gut hormones in response to luminal dietary nutrients as well as microbial metabolites. We identified that an orphan GPCR, Gpr17, was expressed in the intestinal epithelium and found that loss of intestinal Gpr17 expression increased gut incretin hormone secretion from enteroendocrine cells (EECs). However, it is unknown how Gpr17 ablation in the intestinal epithelium affects feeding behavior and satiety regulation. To address this question, we used genetic knockout approach to generate intestinal Gpr17-deficient mice and analyzed their feeding behavior. Here we show that intestinal Gpr17-deficient mice had similar growth curve, body composition, and ad libitum food intake compared with littermate controls. Interestingly, intestinal Gpr17-deficient mice responded to fasting-refeeding challenge with reduced fasting locomotor activity and less food intake after refeeding, suggesting increased satiety during the phase of rebound hyperphagia. Moreover, we performed fasting-refeeding challenge with Gpr17-deficient mice fed on high-fat diet (HFD), and our meal pattern analysis revealed that these mice had reduced meal duration of the first meal after refeeding. In conclusion, our genetic knockout studies in rodents showed that ablating intestinal Gpr17 increased satiety during rebound hyperphagia in the fasting-refeeding experimental paradigm. Intestinal Gpr17 could be developed as a therapeutic target to treat obesity by improving energy balance through gut hormone secretion and meal pattern control.