Dietary sugar intake is associated with various metabolic disorders. A study by Anderson et al describes an arctic population whose genetic variation in sucrase-isomaltase (SI), an intestinal sucrose breakdown enzyme, confers a healthier anthropometric and metabolic profile in human adults. Interestingly, such beneficial effects are not associated with reduced sucrose intake but are related to increased acetate production from sucrose catabolism by gut microbiota. While further investigations will be required to elucidate molecular mechanisms, this study raises an exciting possibility of targeting SI for therapeutic intervention of metabolic diseases.

膳食糖摄入量与各种代谢紊乱有关。Anderson 等人的一项研究描述了一个北极人群，其蔗糖酶异麦芽糖酶（SI）（一种肠道蔗糖分解酶）的遗传变异赋予成年人更健康的人体测量和代谢特征。有趣的是，这种有益作用与蔗糖摄入量减少无关，但与肠道微生物群蔗糖分解代谢产生的乙酸盐增加有关。虽然需要进一步研究来阐明分子机制，但这项研究提出了以 SI 为靶点进行代谢疾病治疗干预的令人兴奋的可能性。