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Hepatic glucose metabolism in 2015

Nutrient and hormone-sensing-dependent regulation

In 2015, four studies demonstrated that hepatic glucose metabolism is altered by targeting the farnesoid X-activated receptor in the gut, the insulin receptor in extrahepatic tissues such as the brain and an S-nitrosylation–endoplasmic reticulum-stress-dependent pathway in the liver. Targeting nutrient-dependent and hormone-dependent signalling pathways in these organs could help regulate hepatic glucose production in patients with diabetes mellitus and obesity.

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Figure 1: Regulation of hepatic glucose metabolism by the gut, brain and liver.

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Acknowledgements

The author's laboratory is supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Foundation Grant (FDN-143204), a Canadian Diabetes Association Operating Grant (OG-3-13-4156-TL) and the Canada Foundation for Innovation. The author holds the John Kitson McIvor (1915–1942) Endowed Chair in Diabetes Research & Canada Research Chair in Obesity at the Toronto General Research Institute and the University of Toronto.

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Correspondence to Tony K. T. Lam.

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The author declares no competing financial interests.

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Lam, T. Nutrient and hormone-sensing-dependent regulation. Nat Rev Endocrinol 12, 70–72 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2015.204

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