Capsules for obesity
A year ago, researchers at Ohio State University, working under the leadership of Ouliana Ziouzenkova, found that the activity of the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase 1a1 in the body of mice is associated with the deposition of fat after consumption of fat-rich foods. It turned out that animals deprived of this enzyme remain thin regardless of the nature of nutrition.
Scientists decided to test whether fibroblasts deprived of this enzyme are able to stimulate the ability of visceral fat cells to burn their own reserves. To do this, they encapsulated the fluorescent protein-labeled fibroblasts of genetically modified mice lacking aldehyde dehydrogenase 1a1 in tiny capsules of alginate-poly-L-lysine. This polymer protects cells from the immune system, while at the same time giving them the opportunity to release biologically active substances synthesized by them into the environment.
The capsules loaded with cells were injected into visceral fat in two locations on the abdomen of wild-type mice kept on a fat-rich diet for 90 days. The animals of the two control groups were injected with capsules containing fibroblasts of wild-type mice, or a saline solution. Each group consisted of 5 animals.
For the next 80 days, the animals were still kept on a high-calorie diet. As a result, the mice of the control groups continued to actively gain weight, while the animals of the experimental group underwent a real metamorphosis. During the first 23 days after the procedure, their body weight decreased, after which the weight partially returned and gradually stabilized. At the end of the experiment, the visceral fat of the mice of the experimental group contained at least 20% less lipids than in the animals of the control groups.
Upon a more detailed study of this phenomenon, it turned out that encapsulated cells synthesized and released a large amount of uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1), which promotes the breakdown of fat with the release of heat.
Excessive thermogenesis can have an adverse effect on the body, however, despite the increased heat production in the abdomen of experimental animals, it did not reach levels affecting the state of the body.
Zyuzenkova hopes that the technology developed by her group will make it possible to develop methods of treating not only obesity, but also other diseases caused by metabolic disorders. She emphasizes that fluorescent tags allow you to track the fate of implanted capsules in the body and extract them if necessary.
Article by Fangping Yang et al. The prolonged survival of fibroblasts with forced lipid catabolism in visceral fat following encapsulation in alginate-poly-l-lysine is published in the journal Biomaterials.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of The Ohio State University:
Study in Mice Discovers Injection of Heat-Generating Cells Reduces Belly Fat.
21.09.2012