Researchers from the University of Maryland (Baltimore, USA) demonstrated in mice that infection with roundworms (nematodes) can not only fight obesity, but also treat associated metabolic disorders.

Interesting news scientists published in the online edition of "Infection and Immunity".

Nematodes parasitizing the gastrointestinal tract infect approximately 2 billion people around the planet.

Experts believe that at the dawn of the 20th century, almost every person on Earth had intestinal worms.

In developed countries for many years, the number of helminthic invasions is declining, but at the same time, autoimmune diseases are gaining momentum here - the latter fact suggests some connection. Nematodes may have a preventive and therapeutic effect in inflammatory diseases, including ulcerative colitis, multiple sclerosis, certain types of allergy. Today in Europe and the United States are conducting clinical trials on this issue.

Scientists from Maryland tested the effect of nematodes on mice, who were put on a diet high in fat. Infected mice during the study were scored 15% less than the mice from the control group. But animals that already suffered from obesity, after infection with worms, lost an average of 13% of the mass in 10 days. Nematodes also caused a decrease in blood glucose and reduced the accumulation of fat in the liver by about 25%.

The level of insulin and leptin in experimental animals also fell, showing that "in mice, sensitivity to both hormones is restored". This is said by the author of the study, Aiping Cao, from the School of Medicine of the University of Maryland. Leptin regulates appetite. Cao explains that a high level of insulin and leptin is associated with resistance of the body to these hormones, obesity and metabolic syndrome.

The mechanism of decreasing the concentration of these hormones "is associated with a parasite-induced decrease in glucose uptake in the intestine, a decrease in the level of triglycerides in the liver, an increase in the population of alternatively activated macrophages (AAMP) - cells regulating glucose metabolism and inflammation". This publication was told by the co-author of the work of Joe Urban of the US Department of Agriculture.

According to Urban, some of these changes include interleukin-13 protein and associated intracellular signaling mechanisms. This involves the direct involvement of the immune system in metabolic disorders, obesity and metabolic syndrome.

The prevalence of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate all over the world. But this is a key risk factor for many metabolic disorders, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes.

Recent scientific studies indicate that obesity is combined with a chronic inflammatory process in adipose tissue, which causes the release of cytokines and chemokines - aggressive substances that contribute to cardiovascular disease.

Glistular invasion, according to scientists, is accompanied by a rapid increase in the titer of immune Th2 cells and related substances. This not only helps fight infection, but also plays an important role in the fight against chronic inflammation. Scientists say that the molecular mechanisms of an open phenomenon still need to be studied.

medbe. en.

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