The role of the equine enteroinsular axis in insulin dysregulation: In vitro mechanistic insights for disease prevention

Insulin dysregulation encompasses abnormalities in insulin metabolism, including hyperinsulinaemia and insulin resistance. These abnormalities cause diseases in horses and humans, including laminitis and type-2 diabetes mellitus, respectively. This project investigated the role of incretins, and their receptors, in equine insulin dysregulation, and also examined the inhibitory effect of sweet-taste receptor antagonists on intestinal glucose uptake. The project discovered that incretin action and glucose uptake can be attenuated in horses using incretin, and sweet-taste receptor, antagonists, respectively. This is a novel approach to reducing hyperinsulinaemia. Thus, these pathways should be further investigated as novel therapies for metabolic syndrome and laminitis