Studies on the equine enteroinsular axis

Equine insulin dysregulation is a burgeoning and poorly understood problem associated with high morbidity. Based on the premise that insulin dysregulation originates in the foregut, this innovative project aimed to identify the earliest pathogenic factors of disease by investigating two key hormones: ghrelin and GLP-2; and, whether a specific genetic mutation underlies insulin dysregulation.

Using innovative approaches, the project examined gastrointestinal factors influencing insulin dysregulation, which will enable the identification of at-risk animals and pinpoint novel treatment strategies. Improved disease treatment and prevention will reduce the suffering associated with painful and often lethal co-morbidities.

The gastrointestinal peptides glucagon-like peptide-1 and glucagon-like peptide-2 are key components of the enteroinsular axis and have a role in metabolic diseases. They are coded by the proglucagon gene (GCG) and released from L cells in the gastrointestinal tract. Very little investigation of these peptides has been undertaken in horses, despite horses being prone to metabolic dysfunction. This dataset contains basic physiological data from in vitro studies of the physiology of these two peptides in healthy horse tissues. 

Initial dataset contains 2 spreadsheets: Studies on equine glucagon-like peptide 1 and Studies on equine glucagon-like peptide 2.  Additional spreadsheet (GLP1 inhibitor study_raw data) uploaded 1/11/23.