美國德州大學西南醫學中心（UT Southwestern Medical Center）內科醫學與細胞生物學教授Dr. Philipp Scherer：「健康的」發炎是好事（“Healthy” inflammation is necessary to prevent metabolic diseases, such as fatty liver）
作者：【記者蘇湘雲／綜合外電報導】 | 台灣新生報 – 2014年6月20日
Dr. Philipp Scherer
醫界以往認為，當組織慢性發炎，很容易就會出現肥胖、代謝性疾病等問題，不過美國德州大學西南醫學中心研究卻發現，發炎不見得是壞事，如果是「健康」發炎，就能幫助預防脂肪肝等代謝性疾病。
美國德州大學西南醫學中心內科醫學與細胞生物學教授菲利浦‧史伽勒指出，所謂的「健康」發炎是指發炎現象可讓組織恢復、重新生長，對於組織本身、全身健康都有好處。同樣原理也出現於肌肉組織。像運動會引起肌肉組織產生一些發炎反應，這樣不但不會傷害肌肉，肌肉還能變得更健壯、更健康。
研究團隊透過動物實驗發現，如果抑制脂肪組織發炎反應，老鼠脂肪就不會一直增加、擴散，老鼠就會顯得比較瘦，就算餵食高脂食物，老鼠也不會發胖。研究人員原本以為，這樣的老鼠代謝情況會獲得改善，代謝性疾病發生率也會降低，不料結果並非如此，當脂肪組織發炎反應消失，老鼠反而出現胰島素阻抗性等代謝性疾病症狀。這項研究已於近日發表於「細胞代謝」期刊（Cell Metabolism）。
研究人員認為，當脂肪組織擴散，就能吸收多餘脂質，避免這些脂質囤積於肝臟等其他組織。動物實驗顯示，一旦脂肪堆積於肝臟細胞，就會產生脂肪肝。這可以解釋為什麼抗發炎藥物無法治療糖尿病等代謝性疾病。如果可以促使脂肪組織產生低度發炎反應，或許可以幫助預防、治療一些代謝性疾病。
Inflammation in fat tissue helps prevent metabolic disease
DALLAS – June 18, 2014
Chronic tissue inflammation is typically associated with obesity and metabolic disease, but new research from UT Southwestern Medical Center now finds that a level of “healthy” inflammation is necessary to prevent metabolic diseases, such as fatty liver.
“There is such a thing as ‘healthy’ inflammation, meaning inflammation that allows the tissue to grow and has overall benefits to the tissue itself and the whole body,” said Dr. Philipp Scherer, Director of the Touchstone Center for Diabetes Research and Professor of Internal Medicine and Cell Biology at UT Southwestern. “The same principle also applies in muscle: Exercise induces some inflammation in the tissue, but also leads to better and stronger muscles and, consequently, a healthier organism.”
Using animal models, Dr. Scherer and his team, with first author, Dr. Ingrid Wernstedt Asterholm, former Assistant Instructor at UT Southwestern and current Assistant Professor at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, found that suppressing inflammation in fat tissue results in reduced fat expansion and thus leaner mice, even when the animals are fed a high-fat diet. The findings were first published online June 12 in Cell Metabolism.
What Dr. Scherer, holder of the Gifford O. Touchstone, Jr. and Randolph G. Touchstone Distinguished Chair in Diabetes Research, and his team expected to find that the reduced body fat content would lead to improvements in metabolism and a lower incidence of metabolic disease. Unexpectedly, the team found that the lean mice showed symptoms of metabolic disease, such as glucose intolerance.
This result might be because when fat tissue expands, it absorbs excess lipids, preventing them from being deposited in other tissues, such as the liver. Indeed, the animal models showed signs of fatty liver, caused by buildup of fat in liver cells, and a “leaky gut,” caused by disruption of the gut wall.
“What our research shows is that we need some localized inflammation to remodel our fat tissue and to prevent metabolic diseases such as fatty liver,” said Dr. Asterholm. “This finding may explain in part why anti-inflammatory medicines have so far not been successful as anti-diabetic treatments. The effects of interventions that promote local low-level inflammation in fat tissue remain to be determined.”
Additional study contributors at UT Southwestern include graduate students Caroline Tao and Thomas Morley; Dr. Qiong Annabel Wang, postdoctoral research fellow in Internal Medicine; and Dr. Zhao Wang, Instructor of Internal Medicine.
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Throne-Holst Foundation, the Swedish Research Council, VINNOVA, the NovoNordisk Excellence Project Award, the American Heart Association, and the American Diabetes Association.
About UT Southwestern Medical Center
UT Southwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty includes many distinguished members, including six who have been awarded Nobel Prizes since 1985. Numbering more than 2,700, the faculty is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide medical care in 40 specialties to nearly 91,000 hospitalized patients and oversee more than 2 million outpatient visits a year.
Media Contact: Lisa Warshaw
214-648-3404
lisa.warshaw@utsouthwestern.edu
