Nutrient-nutrient interactions in the small intestine

来自农作物的糖蜜和含果糖的糖浆越来越多地被用于人类以及农场和动物园的动物的饮食中，可能已经扰乱了数百万年来对相对低糖饮食的适应。饮食中糖含量的急剧增加与代谢性骨病发病率的急剧增加不谋而合。之前没有一项研究能够概念化过量摄入糖和骨骼健康之间的联系的机制。这位研究员？S最近发现，果糖可能会抑制肠道对钙的吸收，钙是构建和维护骨骼所需的一种矿物质，现在，他为过度摄入热量甜味剂和骨骼疾病之间的这种联系提供了一个可验证的解释。肠道灌流、细胞培养、突变小鼠和饮食操作，结合分子生物学工具，将被用来研究果糖如何以及为什么抑制肠道钙吸收，最终损害骨骼质量。果糖可能会降低两种重要化合物的浓度。首先，它可能会与吸收钙的肠道转运体作为燃料所需的化学物质结合，然后将其隔离。其次，由于果糖被怀疑会扰乱肾脏功能，它还可能干扰肾脏细胞制造制造这些钙转运蛋白所需的化合物。NSF这个奖项的结果最终应该会导致营养建议，可以最大限度地减少糖摄入量增加对人类和动物骨骼疾病的影响，这些疾病已经使美国医疗保健系统和农业/宠物行业每年损失约200亿美元。该奖项涉及美国、日本和法国研究人员的合作，支持对四名年轻科学家的培训，并为市中心高中的学生讲授科学提供机会。

Molasses and fructose-containing syrups from agricultural crops are increasingly utilized in the diets of humans and of animals in farms and zoos and may have disrupted millions of years of adaptation to a relatively low sugar diet. This drastic increase in dietary sugar content coincidentally parallels dramatic increases in incidence of metabolic bone diseases. No previous study has been able to conceptualize a mechanism underlying the link between excessive intake of sugars and bone health. This investigator?s recent discovery that fructose may inhibit intestinal absorption of calcium, a mineral required to build and maintain bones, now provides a testable explanation of this link between overconsumption of caloric sweeteners and bone disease. Intestinal perfusion, cell culture, mutant mice and dietary manipulations, in combination with molecular biological tools, will be used to examine how and why fructose inhibits intestinal calcium absorption and eventually compromises bone quality. Fructose likely decreases the concentrations of two important compounds. First, it may bind to, then sequester a chemical required as fuel by intestinal transporters that absorb calcium. Second, since fructose is suspected to disrupt kidney function, it may also interfere with the manufacture by kidney cells of a compound required to make these calcium transporters. Findings from this NSF award should ultimately lead to nutritional recommendations that can minimize the impact of increased sugar consumption on bone disease in humans and animals that already cost the US health care system and agricultural/pet industries ~$20 billion annually. This award, which involves collaboration among American, Japanese and French investigators supports the training of four young scientists and provides the opportunity for student teaching of science in inner city high schools.