In this sense, researchers from Columbia University (USA) have created a new method to treat obesity through the use of cationic nanomaterials that can target specific areas of fat and inhibit unhealthy cell storage. enlarged fat deposits, announces the scientific journal “Nature Nanotechnologie”.
“Our studies highlight an unexpected strategy to treat visceral adiposity and suggest a new direction in the exploration of cationic nanomaterials for the treatment of metabolic diseases,” says Kam Leong, biomedical engineer at Columbia Engineering, a pioneer in the use polycations to kill pathogens. .
How does fat work?
The development of fat cells, which are produced from a tiny fibroblast-like progenitor, not only activates genes specific to fat cells, but also causes them to grow by storing more lipids (adipocytes and adipose tissue). Lipid storage is the defining function of a fat cell. However, storing too much fat can make fat cells unhealthy and lead to obesity. So the ability to target fat cells and safely decouple unhealthy fat formation from healthy fat metabolism would be the answer many people desire.
There are two main types of fat: visceral fat, the internal tissues that surround the stomach, liver, and intestines, and subcutaneous fat, which is found under the skin anywhere on the body.
Visceral fat is often the culprit behind the dreaded belly, while subcutaneous fat can show up anywhere else, such as double chin, arm fat, or hip fat.
To date, there is no way to specifically treat visceral adipose tissue, which is why scientists are working hard to find a solution to this far-reaching problem.
A giant step has just been taken in this direction with the two new studies carried out by researchers from Columbia Engineering and the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), as they could provide the answer for the treatment of fat cells in a specific way. and healthy. This work demonstrates a novel approach to treating obesity through the use of cationic nanomaterials that can target specific areas of fat and inhibit the unhealthy storage of enlarged fat cells. The materials reshape the fat instead of destroying it, as liposuction does, for example.
The first study focuses on visceral adiposity or abdominal fat while the second article focuses on fat under the skin and chronic inflammation associated with obesity.
The team of researchers, led by Li Qiang, Associate Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology at CUIMC, and Kam Leong, Samuel Y. Sheng Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Systems Biology at CUIMC, as published by Europa Press, has explained that adipose tissue contains large amounts of negatively charged extracellular matrix (ECM) to maintain fat cells. They thought that this negatively charged ECM network could provide a kind of highway for positively charged molecules. So they took a positively charged nanomaterial, PAMAM generation 3 (P-G3), and injected it into obese mice. P-G3 quickly spread through the tissues, and the team was thrilled to see that their method of specifically targeting visceral fat was working.
At this point, an intriguing event occurred when P-G3 turned off the lipid storage program in fat cells and the mice lost weight. This was totally unexpected, given the well-established role of P-G3 in neutralizing negatively charged pathogens, such as DNA/RNA cellular debris, to attenuate inflammation.
“Our approach is unique: it moves away from pharmacological or surgical approaches. We use cationic loading to rejuvenate healthy fat cells, a technique no one has used to treat obesity. I believe this new strategy will open the door to safer and healthier fat reduction,” says Qiang, a specialist in obesity and adipocyte biology.
In these two studies, the researchers found that the cationic material, P-G3, could impact fat cells: while helping to form new fat cells. It also uncoupled lipid storage and fat maintenance functions in fat cells. And because it inhibits the storage of unhealthy lipids from enlarged fat cells, the mice had more small, young, metabolically healthy fat cells, like those found in newborn babies and athletes. The researchers found that this P-G3 uncoupling function is also valid in human fat biopsies, signifying the potential for human translation.
“With P-G3, fat cells can remain fat cells, but they cannot grow. Our studies highlight an unexpected strategy to treat visceral adiposity and suggest a new direction for exploring cationic nanomaterials to treat metabolic diseases,” the researchers explain.
Promising future
Researchers are very excited to develop P-G3 as a platform for delivering drugs and gene therapies specifically directed against unhealthy fat. This could redirect many drugs that raise systemic safety concerns, such as thiazolidinediones (TZDs), a potent but dangerous drug that is a potent fat modulator and is used to treat type 2 diabetes but has been linked to diabetes. heart failure and is banned in many countries.
“We are very excited to discover that cationic loading is the secret to targeting adipose tissue. Now we can safely reduce specific fat deposits wherever we want without destroying fat cells. It’s a big step forward in the treatment of obesity,” rejoices Qiang.