# Role of Na+/H+ exchanger in diabetic diarrhea

> **NIH VA I01** · VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION · 2020 · —

## Abstract

Diarrhea is one of the most frequent complaints in deployed military personnel from the United States and has
significant adverse effects on the health of service members. It was reported that 76.8 % of soldiers in Operation
Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom experienced diarrhea. Diabetes is becoming an increasing
health concern for veterans, with one in four veterans receiving care from the Department of Veterans Affairs
has diabetes. A common troublesome gastrointestinal complication of diabetes is diarrhea. Diabetic diarrhea
attains clinical significance because of its severity and refractory nature. The overall incidence of diabetic
diarrhea can reach as high as 22%. Although diarrhea is less frequent in type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM), the
frequent cause of diarrhea in T2DM is associated with drugs, including metformin, which is commonly used for
glycemic control in T2DM. Clinical Relevance to the Department of Veterans Affair is that with more than 70% of
patients in VA facilities being overweight or obese, T2DM is a major health concern. Yet the underlying cause of
diarrhea in T2DM has not been studied and there is a need to improve treatment for diabetic diarrhea. Diarrhea
is caused by altered intestinal transport of electrolytes and fluid, but the link between the aberrant electrolyte
transport and diabetic diarrhea is not established. The major Na+ absorptive mechanism in the intestine is
electroneutral NaCl absorption mediated by the Na+/H+ exchanger 3 (NHE3). Inhibition of NHE3 is associated
with both enterotoxigenic and inflammatory diarrhea. Our recent study of type 1 diabetic mellitus (T1DM) showed
that NHE3 expression is downregulated in T1DM humans and mice, which helped to identify a specific ion
transporter as a cause of diabetic diarrhea for the first time. Preliminary studies have demonstrated that NHE3
expression is decreased in human diabetic tissues and db/db mice, a mouse model for T2DM. Additionally, we
have compelling evidence that metformin, a widely prescribed drug to treat T2DM, inhibits NHE3, suggesting
NHE3 dysfunction is associated with frequent diarrhea caused by metformin. Adenosine monophosphate kinase
(AMPK) is a major effector of anti-diabetic metformin, and activation of AMPK causes NHE3 inhibition,
suggesting the critical role of AMPK in NHE3 regulation by metformin. The objective of the proposed study is
determine the impact of decreased NHE3 expression and activity in diabetic diarrhea, in particular T2DM. The
central hypothesis of this proposed study is that inhibition of NHE3 by elevated PKCα is a major cause of NHE3
inhibition in T2DM, and activation of AMPK by anti-diabetic drugs such as metformin further inhibits NHE3,
contributing to diarrhea in some patients. The proposed studies designed to test this hypothesis will establish a
new paradigm that diabetic diarrhea is caused by aberrant regulation of sodium and fluid transport by NHE3. We
propose to test the hypothesis that PKCα is a majo...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9780816
- **Project number:** 1I01BX004459-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Changhyon Chris Yun
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2019-10-01 → 2023-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9780816

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9780816, Role of Na+/H+ exchanger in diabetic diarrhea (1I01BX004459-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9780816. Licensed CC0.

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