( . The work raises a fascinating quest...)Dragonfly's metabolic disease provides clues about human obesity

." The work raises a fascinating question about what role microbial communities found in human intestines may play in human metabolic disorders like insulin resistance, type-2 diabetes, and obesity. In mammals, these metabolic disorders are known to be associated with a chronic inflammatory response, thought to be triggered by an accumulation of fat. __IMAGE_2

In Marden and Schilder's dragonflies, the reverse happens. Parasitic infection triggers an inflammatory response and immediate changes in metabolism. Unable to metabolize fat, the dragonflies accumulate fat around their muscles. This finding begs the question of whether something similar might be happening in human metabolic diseases, the root causes of which remain poorly understood despite intense study.

"Might disturbances in the microbial balance of human intestines trigger an immune system response that leads to metabolic disease?" Marden and Schilder asked. "More attention should be paid to the microbial balance in the intestines of people who suffer from obesity," said Schilder. "It seems plausible that disturbance in the microbial community in humans might trigger these inflammatory responses."

There are some other clues indicating that this may be an important question. "What we're finding in insects is that they become obese when parasites cause inflammation that affects metabolism," said Marden. "That seems akin to what's happening in humans when they get type-2 diabetes. It's not because there's been a change in the genetic composition of the population. it's because something has changed in our environment." One change in the human environment is the dramatic increase in soft-drink consumption among Americans, estimated to be 500 percent over 50 years from the 1940s to the 1990s. "We looked in the literature and found that consumption of high-fructose corn syrup often is associated with gastrointestinal distress, which may be a sign that fructose affect
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Source:Penn State

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