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Researchers have discovered an immune cell that impedes the burning of belly fat as you age. This demonstrates a collaboration between the immune system and the nervous system in controlling metabolism.
Immune System and Belly Fat
In a new study from Yale, researchers have described how the nervous system and the immune system communicate to regulate both inflammation and metabolism. They have also demonstrated how this process changes with age and why burning belly fat becomes more difficult. Moreover, the researchers have been successful in attempting to address this issue. At least in mice. The findings were published last month in
Nature.
It was already known that it becomes more difficult to burn belly fat as you age. The researchers wanted to understand why these fat cells appear less capable of serving as fuel.
Vishwa Deep Dixit and his colleagues from the University of Tennessee and the University of Bonn focused their attention on specialized immune cells called macrophages. These are typically involved in controlling infections. In Dixit’s lab, they discovered a new type of macrophage located on the nerves in belly fat. This type of macrophage becomes inflamed as age advances, preventing neurotransmitters (the chemical messengers of the nervous system) from functioning properly.
They then isolated the immune cells from belly fat in young and old mice to identify the problem using genome sequencing. They found that the older macrophages could break down neurotransmitters called catecholamines. As a result, the fat cells are unable to serve as fuel when needed. Subsequently, when they reduced the activity of a specific receptor for controlling certain inflammations, the catecholamines were able to function again as in young mice.
In a follow-up experiment, the researchers blocked an enzyme that increases in aged macrophages. With this blockade, they were able to normalize fat burning in older mice. Dixit suggests that this enzyme, monoamine oxidase-A or MAOA, can be suppressed with existing antidepressants. In theory, these MOAO inhibitors should be able to improve fat burning in older individuals. However, he warns that more research is needed to ensure that this medication can be specifically targeted to belly fat and that the safety of such treatment needs to be tested.
In further research, Dixit and his colleagues aim to gain more insight into the interaction between immune cells and nerve cells and their influence on health and disease. They consider, among other things, that controlling the inflammation of aged immune cells may lead to more benefits than increased burning of belly fat.
References
- news.yale.edu/2017/09/27/battling-belly-fat-specialized-immune-cells-impair-metabolism-aging
