The effect of bariatric surgery on gastrointestinal and pancreatic peptide hormones

•Bariatric surgery procedures include gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy and roux-en-Y gastric bypass.•They are Highlighteffective methods of weight reduction in obese patients.•Gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy also improve glucose tolerance and promote the remission of type 2 diabetes.•The mechanisms underlying the beneficial metabolic effects of surgery are unclear, but may relate in part to altered concentrations of gut and pancreatic peptide hormones such as ghrelin, glucagon-like peptide, peptide YY, oxyntomodulin, insulin and glucagon. Bariatric surgery for obesity has proved to be an extremely effective method of promoting long-term weight reduction with additional beneficial metabolic effects, such as improved glucose tolerance and remission of type 2 diabetes. A range of bariatric procedures are in common use, including gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy and the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Although the mechanisms underlying the efficacy of bariatric surgery are unclear, gastrointestinal and pancreatic peptides are thought to play an important role. The aim of this review is to summarise the effects of different bariatric surgery procedures upon gastrointestinal and pancreatic peptides, including ghrelin, gastrin, cholecystokinin (CCK), glucose-dependent insulinotropic hormone (GIP), glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), peptide YY (PYY), oxyntomodulin, insulin, glucagon and somatostatin.