Validation of Ussing chamber technology to study satiety hormone release from human duodenal specimens

By developing novel screening technologies to test effects of food ingredients on hormone release, which are comparable to the in vivo situation, fewer tests may have to be performed using volunteers, whereas it still provides information that can be extrapolated to the human situation. In an in vivo intervention study, 10 lean (BMI: 20–25 kg/m²) and 10 obese (BMI >30 kg/m²) were recruited. All subjects randomly received pea protein (PP) solutions or placebo, orally and intraduodenally. Cholecystokinin (CCK) and glucagon like peptide 1 (GLP‐1) release was measured over 2 h. During the oral interventions, gastrointestinal (GI) fluids were retrieved. For the present ex vivo study, duodenal biopsies were taken and placed in Ussing chambers. The luminal side was exposed to PP, placebo, intraduodenal fluid after oral PP‐intake and oral placebo–intake in vivo, and a commercial pea‐hydrolysate for 2 h. CCK and GLP‐1 levels were measured at the serosal side. After intraduodenal PP administration in vivo, the area under the curve (AUC) for both CCK and GLP‐1 was significantly increased in both lean and obese subjects. In the ex vivo study, exposure to PP resulted in significantly elevated levels of CCK and GLP‐1 compared to all other test solutions. These results indicate that the ex vivo Ussing chamber technology is a valid alternative for in vivo studies, and may therefore serve as a suitable screening tool for studying the effects of nutritional compounds on the release of satiety hormones.