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Gul SS, Hamilton ARL, Munoz AR, Phupitakphol T, Liu W, Hyoju SK, Economopoulos KP, Morrison S, Hu D, Zhang W, Gharedaghi MH, Huo H, Hamarneh SR, Hodin RA. Inhibition of the gut enzyme intestinal alkaline phosphatase may explain how aspartame promotes glucose intolerance and obesity in mice. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2016; 42:77-83. [PMID: 27997218 DOI: 10.1139/apnm-2016-0346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Diet soda consumption has not been associated with tangible weight loss. Aspartame (ASP) commonly substitutes sugar and one of its breakdown products is phenylalanine (PHE), a known inhibitor of intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP), a gut enzyme shown to prevent metabolic syndrome in mice. We hypothesized that ASP consumption might contribute to the development of metabolic syndrome based on PHE's inhibition of endogenous IAP. The design of the study was such that for the in vitro model, IAP was added to diet and regular soda, and IAP activity was measured. For the acute model, a closed bowel loop was created in mice. ASP or water was instilled into it and IAP activity was measured. For the chronic model, mice were fed chow or high-fat diet (HFD) with/without ASP in the drinking water for 18 weeks. The results were that for the in vitro study, IAP activity was lower (p < 0.05) in solutions containing ASP compared with controls. For the acute model, endogenous IAP activity was reduced by 50% in the ASP group compared with controls (0.2 ± 0.03 vs 0.4 ± 0.24) (p = 0.02). For the chronic model, mice in the HFD + ASP group gained more weight compared with the HFD + water group (48.1 ± 1.6 vs 42.4 ± 3.1, p = 0.0001). Significant difference in glucose intolerance between the HFD ± ASP groups (53 913 ± 4000.58 (mg·min)/dL vs 42 003.75 ± 5331.61 (mg·min)/dL, respectively, p = 0.02). Fasting glucose and serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels were significantly higher in the HFD + ASP group (1.23- and 0.87-fold increases, respectively, p = 0.006 and p = 0.01). In conclusion, endogenous IAP's protective effects in regard to the metabolic syndrome may be inhibited by PHE, a metabolite of ASP, perhaps explaining the lack of expected weight loss and metabolic improvements associated with diet drinks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah S Gul
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.,Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - A Rebecca L Hamilton
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.,Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Alexander R Munoz
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.,Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Tanit Phupitakphol
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.,Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Wei Liu
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.,Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Sanjiv K Hyoju
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.,Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Konstantinos P Economopoulos
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.,Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Sara Morrison
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.,Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Dong Hu
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.,Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Weifeng Zhang
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.,Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Mohammad Hadi Gharedaghi
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.,Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Haizhong Huo
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.,Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Sulaiman R Hamarneh
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.,Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Richard A Hodin
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.,Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Parkman Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
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