Nematodes help with obesity and metabolic syndrome
Researchers at the University of Maryland Medical School have demonstrated in experiments on a mouse model that infection with intestinal parasites by nematodes is not only effective in combating obesity, but can also facilitate the manifestations of concomitant metabolic disorders.
According to statistics, about 2 billion people in the world are infected with nematodes parasitizing in the intestinal tract. Some experts believe that up to the 20th century, these parasites were present in the body of almost every person. In economically developed countries, there is a tendency to decrease the incidence of intestinal parasites with a simultaneous increase in the incidence of certain types of autoimmune diseases. There is evidence in favor of the relationship between these two facts.
It is believed that infection with nematodes has a certain therapeutic effect and a number of clinical studies are currently being conducted on methods of using parasitic nematodes for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including inflamed bowel syndrome, multiple sclerosis and allergies.
As part of their work, the authors analyzed the effect on the health of mice contained in a fat-rich diet, parasitizing nematodes in the intestines of Nippostrongyrus brasiliensis (pictured from the website malaghan.org.nz – an adult crawling between the hairs on the skin).
Observations showed that infected animals with initially normal body weight gained 15% less weight than uninfected mice.
Infection of already obese animals for 10 days reduced their body weight by about 13%.
In addition, the presence of nematodes in the intestine was accompanied by a significant decrease in fasting blood glucose levels, high indicators of which are a risk factor for diabetes, as well as a decrease in the severity of fatty liver infiltration, which was manifested by a decrease in fat content in liver tissue by about 25% and total liver mass by 30%.
Also, a decrease in insulin and leptin levels was recorded in the blood of animals, which indicated the restoration of sensitivity of their tissues to these hormones.
The authors explain the mechanism of reducing hormone levels induced by the presence of parasites by a decrease in glucose absorption in the intestine and an increase in the population of so–called alternatively activated macrophages - immune cells that normalize glucose metabolism and inflammation processes. Some of these processes involve a cytokine known as interleukin-13 and other related intracellular signaling mechanisms. All this indicates that metabolic shifts caused by the activity of the immune system triggered by the presence of intestinal parasites can affect the severity of obesity and related metabolic syndrome.
Article by Z. Yang et al. Parasitic Nematode-Induced Modulation of Body Weight and Associated Metabolic Dysfunction in Mouse Models of Obesity is published in the journal Infection and Immunity.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of ScienceDaily:
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