Sleeve Gastrectomy and Gastric Plication in the Rat Result in Weight Loss with Different Endocrine Profiles

Restrictive bariatric surgery procedures currently used include adjustable gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy (SG), and gastric plication (GP), of which the last two techniques still lack sufficient data and long-term studies on weight loss, surgical complications, resolution of comorbidities, and mechanisms of weight loss. Therefore, gastric plication and sleeve gastrectomy as a standalone procedure are still considered experimental. Our aim was to analyze the effects of SG and GP on body weight, food intake, and endocrine profile. Forty-four male Wistar rats were randomized into six weight-matched groups and submitted either to SG, GP, or sham-operated. Sham-operated rats were divided into pair-fed and fed ad libitum controls, one for each procedure. Animals were followed up for 21 days after surgery, while body weight and food intake were recorded daily, when fasting ghrelin, leptin, insulin and glucose plasma levels, and ghrelin expression in the stomach were measured. Rats submitted to SG and GP showed a significant decrease in body weight gain to the same extent as rats pair-fed to the surgical groups when compared to sham-operated fed ad libitum controls. After surgery, SG rats showed no difference in body composition, ghrelin, leptin, insulin, or glucose levels, while GP rats displayed lower body fat content and leptin levels compared to controls. Ghrelin was also lower in GP rats compared to sham-operated pair-fed rats. Ghrelin expression displayed a pattern similar to circulating ghrelin. SG and GP result in weight loss, although with differences in body composition and metabolic and endocrine profiles.