
A new study published in the journal Cell sheds new light on why not all obese people suffer from metabolic diseases such as type II diabetes. The study has linked heightened levels of a molecule called heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) to increased risk of metabolic diseases and suggests that HO-1 blockers can prove to be a promising new strategy in treating such diseases.
"The results indicate that HO-1 is in fact necessary for the development of metabolic disease and call for a re-evaluation of numerous findings in the field," says senior study author Harald Esterbauer of the Medical University of Vienna. "The study also reveals HO-1 as a candidate biomarker for the stratification of metabolically healthy and unhealthy obesity and provides a framework for selective, personalized therapy."
The factors that determine whether obesity leads to poor metabolic health have been unclear, but the evidence suggests that a maladaptive immune response called metabolic inflammation plays an important role. However, studies examining the relationship between a supposedly anti-inflammatory molecule called HO-1 and metabolic disease have produced conflicting results.
"Our findings show that HO-1 is among the strongest predictors of metabolically unhealthy obesity in humans, and it could have a high prognostic value for detecting disease onset," Pospisilik says. "This could allow clinicians to use targeted interventions to prevent disease progression specifically in obese individuals who show early signs of type 2 diabetes."
Source: Eurekalert