Cells keep a 'memory' of obesity even after dieting, according to study

Cells keep a ‘memory’ of obesity even after dieting, according to study

Adipose tissue retains a ‘memory’ of obesity that persists after weight loss, which could increase the likelihood of get fat again and may help explain the yo-yo effect of diets, according to experiments with mouse and human cells.

This memory is described in a study published by Nature, led by the Federal Polytechnic School of Zurich (ETH) and in which researcher Daniel Castellano-Castillo from the Malaga Biomedical Research Institute and Nanomedicine Platform (IBIMA) participated.

The team used adipose tissue cells from 18 individuals without obesity, and another 20 before and after weight loss after bariatric surgery. They also studied mouse cells.

Cell memory and epigenetics

The research indicated that obesity causes characteristic epigenetic changes in the nucleus of adipose cells, which remain even after a diet and “they remember the state of overweight and can return to it more easily,” highlighted study leader Ferdinand von Meyenn. , from the ETH.

Mice with these epigenetic markers regained weight more quickly when they regained access to a high fat dietthat is, they suffered a yo-yo effect.

Epigenetics is the part of genetics that is not based on the sequence of genetic components, but on small chemical markers characteristic of these components. That is, those that can be modified throughout life due to environmental factors, eating habits or the state of the body – such as obesity.

But these can remain stable for many years, sometimes decades, and during this time they play a key role in determine which genes are active in our cells and which are notexplains ETH in a statement.

Epigenetics tells a cell what type of cell it is and what it should do,” explains Laura Hinte, one of the signatories of the study.

The study indicates, according to the researchers, the existence of an obesogenic memory, based largely on stable epigenetic changesin mouse adipocytes and probably in other cell types.

All of these changes appear to prime cells for pathological responses, contributing to the yo-yo effect often seen with diets.

(With information from EFE)

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Bryce

I am Bryce, a writer for Southshore Journal, and I bring my passion for general news to our dynamic team. My commitment to editorial quality and the responsibility of informing guide my daily efforts. Working in collaboration with our talented journalists and editors, I strive to provide accurate and current information for our attentive audience.