Enterostatina

What is the Enterostatin

Enterostatin is a pentapeptide involved in the satiety mechanisms of the organism; in fact, researchers have shown that its injection into the brain of mice leads them to a progressive reduction in food consumption, proportional to the dose of injected enterostatin.

Similarly, we have seen that a decreased production of enterostatin or a reduced sensitivity to its presence can be associated with some forms of obesity.

This pentapeptide derives from pancreatic colipase, an enzyme secreted as a zymogen (procolipase) and activated by trypsin in the duodenum; its presence facilitates the adhesion of pancreatic lipases to lipid drops, facilitating the digestion of fats. Colipase is in fact attracted to the lipid droplets with a negative charge given them by bile acids.

Activation of colipase by trypsin involves the removal of a pentapeptide from its N-terminal end. This peptide is called enterostatin

Functions

As anticipated, enterostatin acts as a satiety signal for lipids; it reduces insulin secretion, increases the activity of brown adipose tissue and stimulates the release of corticosteroids at the adrenal level; enterostatin also promotes the onset of a fullness at the gastric level, from which its regulatory role in lipid intake and in the reduction of body weight is probably derived.