Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery Has Unique Effects on Postprandial FGF21 but Not FGF19 Secretion.

Context: Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)19 and FGF21 are secreted by the intestine and liver in response to macronutrient intake. Intestinal resection and reconstruction via bariatric surgery may alter their regulation.

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that weight loss induced by Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery, but not matched weight loss induced by laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), increases postprandial plasma FGF19 and FGF21 concentrations.

Design: Glucose kinetics and plasma FGF19 and FGF21 responses to mixed meal ingestion and to glucose-insulin infusion during a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp procedure, with stable isotope tracer methods, were evaluated in 28 adults with obesity before and after 20% weight loss induced by RYGB (n = 16) or LAGB (n = 12).

Results: LAGB- and RYGB-induced weight loss increased postprandial plasma FGF19 concentrations (P < 0.05). However, weight loss after RYGB, but not LAGB, increased postprandial plasma FGF21 concentrations (1875 ± 330 to 2976 ± 682 vs 2150 ± 310 and 1572 ± 265 pg/mL × 6 hours, respectively). The increase in plasma FGF21 occurred ∼2 hours after the peak in delivery of ingested glucose into systemic circulation. Glucose-insulin infusion increased plasma FGF21, but not FGF19, concentrations. The increase in plasma FGF21 during glucose-insulin infusion was greater after than before weight loss in both surgery groups without a difference between groups, whereas plasma FGF19 was not affected by either procedure.

Conclusions: RYGB-induced weight loss has unique effects on postprandial FGF21 metabolism, presumably due to rapid delivery of ingested macronutrients to the small intestine and delivery of glucose to the liver.