Gut Flora Plays a Crucial Role in Metabolism, Study Finds

Sharon Moore December 09, 2014

Researchers from Louvain Drug Research Institute made an important discovery related to the essential role of the intestinal immune system regarding the control of the energy metabolism. Such mechanism fuels obesity and diabetes type 2 after following a diet with a high dose of fat nutrition.

They found that when modifying the response of the immune system by disabling this protein MyD88 only in those cells covering the intestine, this allows to slow down de development of diabetes induced by a diet of fat nutrition, to limit the development of adipose tissue, to reduce the harmful inflammation present because of the obesity and to strengthen the barrier function assured by our intestine and limiting as such the inappropriate transit of bacterial elements of our intestines in our body.

Their study suggests that for the very first time that as a result of fat nutrition, the inactivation of a part of the intestine immune system (a protein called MyD88) allows these persons to lose weight and to reduce the diabetes type 2, linked to the obesity.

Among the various revealed mechanisms, the UCL-team identified that in addition to the partial protection against inflammation and diabetes type 2, the mice that do not have this protein MyD88 in their intestines, are as well protected against obesity because they consume more energy than other obese mice. In addition, they have different intestinal macrobiotics. Surprisingly, the teams have shown that it is possible to provide a partial protection against obesity and diabetes by transferring (grafting) the intestinal bacteria of these mice to other mice that are axenic (without flora).

Their findings confirm the involvement of intestinal bacteria in the development of obesity, but even more important, it provides new therapeutic possibilities, being a protein of the intestine immunity system for treatment of obesity and diabetes type 2.

Their report was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Source of this article: Intestinal epithelial MyD88 is a sensor switching host metabolism towards obesity according to nutritional status