Viruses produce fat cells
Adenovirus is an uncoated particle with a diameter of 70 ~ 90 nm. There are about 50 kinds of adenovirus, and 33 kinds are known to exist in human body. Most adenoviruses can cause common diseases such as colds, dysentery and conjunctivitis. In routine research, scientists found that AD-36 adenovirus (adenovirus -36) is a common virus, which can infect the respiratory system and eyes, and is not obviously different from other members of its family, but an accidental discovery made scientists change their views.
In April, 2000, Dr. Nicole Duran Dehar, Department of Biochemistry, Wisconsin State University, USA, and her colleagues conducted an adenovirus infection experiment in the laboratory. This is a routine experiment. If nothing happens, experimental animals will get conjunctivitis. Duran Dehar injected two groups of chickens and mice with AD-36 adenovirus, and the other two groups were the control group injected with placebo. A few months later, all the mice in the experimental group suffered from conjunctivitis, while the mice in the control group were safe and sound. However, careful researchers found that the average weight of mice in the experimental group was 7% higher than that in the control group. This unusual phenomenon immediately caught everyone's attention.
Through cell microscopic analysis, scientists found that the number of fat cells in mice injected with AD-36 adenovirus increased significantly, and the fat content was more than three times that of ordinary mice. Duran Dehar immediately became acutely aware that AD-36 adenovirus could gain weight. At that time, many viruses that can cause animal fat accumulation have been found in the medical field, but none of them can make people fat. Duran Dehar thought, there are so many fat people in the world. Could it be AD-36 adenovirus?
After liposuction, the researchers extracted adult stem cell samples from the remaining adipose tissue. Then, half of the stem cells were exposed to AD-36 adenovirus. A week later, the stem cells infected with AD-36 adenovirus became adipocytes, while the stem cells not infected with the virus remained unchanged. This means that AD-36 adenovirus becomes the first human adenovirus that can cause obesity. "Although we can't say that viruses are the only cause of obesity, this study provides some evidence that some obesity is caused by viral infection." Magdalena Pasarik of Louisiana State University said.
To test his idea, Duran Dehar collected a batch of blood samples, and divided them into obese group and normal group according to their physical parameters when donating blood. The conclusion will come out soon. Antibodies to AD-36 adenovirus were found in 30% obese group (that is, infected with virus), while only 5% in normal group contained antibodies. Duran Dehar's research team later cooperated with the University of Louisiana and achieved fruitful results.
The mechanism of action of AD-36 adenovirus is quite unique, and researchers have not yet figured it out. For example, the animals infected by it did not increase their food intake, but decreased their energy consumption efficiency and stored more fat in their bodies. Several other viruses that are only effective for animals all work by destroying the appetite control center in the brain, but in animals injected with AD-36 adenovirus, the researchers did not find any signs of brain infection. Duran Dehar announced his achievements at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society held on August 20th, which aroused strong concern in the scientific community, and many scientific research institutions rushed to request to join this research project.
Obesity can also be contagious.
For many years, people have been using "bad living habits" to explain the cause of obesity, but there are quite a few exceptions that can't be explained by daily logic. For example, some people "drink water and gain meat"; Some people diet, exercise and take diet pills, but the "tonnage" just can't come down; In addition, people with close life relationships will "get fat together" and many middle-aged couples will get fat at the same time. Scientists' new theory can easily solve this problem, but they can't lose weight, because AD-36 adenovirus reduces energy consumption, and intimate people gain weight at the same time, because the virus is contagious.
Scientists have long known that AD-36 adenovirus can be spread through coughing, sneezing and dirty hands. The latest conclusion means that the current global obesity population is expanding, not only because modern people lack exercise and love to eat high-calorie food, but also because of "fatty virus". Maddalena Passari, another researcher at Louisiana State University, said: "This study strongly proves that some obese people may be infected with this virus."
Researchers have found that obesity can spread like a cold. AD-36 adenovirus can stimulate some stem cells in human immune system to become "fat storage bins", while uninfected cells will not be affected. The whole process is completed by a gene in the virus that controls fat conversion. Because this virus easily invades the host cell, and its double-stranded DNA can be copied and transcribed efficiently by the nucleic acid in the cell, it spreads quickly. So it is not surprising that obesity is prevalent.
"Weight-loss vaccine" can shape the body.
Is obesity caused by viral infection? This sounds a little incredible. The new conclusion will prompt people to re-examine the obesity problem. For a long time, the public simply attributed obesity to overeating, insufficient exercise and weak will to lose weight. However, with the deepening of research, scientists found that the mechanism of obesity is very complicated, and viral infection is one of the factors. In addition to the virus, experts also put forward other unexpected obesity factors. Such as drug treatment of mental illness and toxins in organochlorine pesticides. Even your ancestors may affect your figure-experts have analyzed that because human ancestors experienced famine, their descendants may have a genetic tendency to store fat.
Researchers say that obesity caused by viral infection is difficult or even impossible to cure, and prevention by injecting related vaccines has become a key measure to treat obesity. In the future, scientists are likely to find a vaccine to fight obesity and destroy the virus. Like hepatitis B and meningitis vaccines, children have been vaccinated with "slimming vaccine" since childhood.
At present, scientists are conducting further research to unravel the mechanism of action of AD-36 adenovirus and look for other viruses with similar effects. Leah Wickham, a researcher in the Department of Nutrition at Wisconsin State University, said: "Using vaccines to treat obesity is very effective. "However, we still have a long way to go, because we first need to know how many kinds of adenovirus cause obesity in human body."