Overweight study Abdominal fat releases pathogenic substances into the blood

New pathogenic relationships identified with obesity

Every year, according to the World Health Organization, nearly three million people die from overweight and obesity. Studies from the past years have repeatedly shown the connection between obesity, heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. An international research team has now identified a messenger substance in the belly fat that promotes chronic inflammation and the development of insulin resistance. This messenger substance gets into the blood in case of severe obesity and can release its pathogenic mechanisms there.

The new findings will be used in the future to develop alternative approaches for the treatment of diseases that are favored by obesity. The pathogenic molecular mechanisms that lead to the overweight-related inflammatory reaction were previously understood to be insufficient. The latest research now provides a great insight. The study results were recently published in the journal "Diabetologia".

A new study identifies a messenger substance that enters the bloodstream in cases of severe obesity and thus favors secondary diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. (Image: Gina Sanders / fotolia.com)

Protein molecules cause the harmful effect

The scientists were able to document how a particular protein molecule (Wingless-type signaling pathway protein-1, WISP1 for short) has a direct influence on the insulin action in the muscle cells and in the liver, adversely affecting it and thus producing insulin insensitivity. In earlier research, the protein molecule WISP-1 has been implicated in the regulation of bone growth, the development of some cancers, and pulmonary fibrosis.

Protein from the abdominal fat disturbs the sugar metabolism

"We suspect that an increased production of WISP1 from the abdominal fat could be a cause, why overweight people often have a disturbed glucose metabolism," explains the first author of the study Tina Hörbelt from the German Diabetes Center in Dusseldorf in a press release on the study results. The tests showed a clear correlation between the appearance of the protein molecule and changes in blood sugar concentrations as well as changes in the level of the enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), which promotes chronic inflammation in obesity.

Poorer Schauerdstoffversorgung in overweight

"One possible cause of increased WISP1 production and release from the abdominal fat cells could be the poor oxygen supply (hypoxia) of the tissues," Dr. Olga Pivovarova from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke, a senior researcher in research. This could lead to the chronic inflammatory reactions, so Pivovarova.

Alternative approaches to new theatricals

Thanks to the new findings, alternative approaches for the treatment of diseases caused by obesity are now possible. "For example, drugs that specifically prevent WISP1 activity on muscles and liver cells, and thus lead to better insulin action in these tissues," are likely. Natalia Rudovich, senior diabetologist and endocrinologist at the Bülach Hospital of the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. However, there is still a long way to go from basic research to operational therapeutics. Nonetheless, the results have already contributed to better understanding.

About the metabolic syndrome

The metabolic syndrome is a frequently observed condition in which adiposity (obesity), hypertension, insulin resistance of the body cells and metabolic disorders come together. This dangerous combination increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, certain cancers and heart disease. (Vb)