Metabolic surgery improves insulin resistance through the reduction of gut-secreted heat shock proteins

Abstract

Metabolic surgery improves insulin resistance and is associated with the remission of type 2 diabetes, but the mechanisms involved remain unknown. We find that human jejunal mucosa secretes heat shock proteins (HSPs) in vitro, in particular HSP70 and GRP78. Circulating levels of HSP70 are higher in people resistant to insulin, compared to the healthy and normalize after duodenal–jejunal bypass. Insulin sensitivity negatively correlates with the plasma level of HSP70, while body mass index does not. A high-energy diet increases the circulating levels of HSP70 and insulin resistance. HSP70 stimulates the accumulation of lipid droplets and inhibits Ser473 phosphorylation of Akt and glucose uptake in immortalized liver cells and peripheral blood cells. Serum depleted of HSPs, as well as the serum from the insulin-resistant people subjected to a duodenal–jejunal bypass, reverse these features, identifying gut-secreted HSPs as possible causes of insulin resistance. Duodenal–jejunal bypass might reduce the secretion of HSPs either by shortening the food transit or by decreasing the fat stimulation of endocrine cells.

Giulia Angelini et al. demonstrate that calorie-dense diets overstimulate the secretion of heat shock proteins from the small intestine, increasing insulin resistance. This study suggests that bariatric surgery improves insulin resistance by reducing the circulatory level of gut-secreted heat shock proteins.