Hypothalamic Inflammation in Human Obesity Is Mediated by Environmental and Genetic Factors

• Published in: Diabetes (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 66; no. 9; pp. 2407 - 2415
• Main Authors: Kreutzer, Carina, Peters, Sönke, Schulte, Dominik M, Fangmann, Daniela, Türk, Kathrin, Wolff, Stephan, van Eimeren, Thilo, Ahrens, Markus, Beckmann, Jan, Schafmayer, Clemens, Becker, Thomas, Kerby, Tina, Rohr, Axel, Riedel, Christian, Heinsen, Femke-Anouska, Degenhardt, Frauke, Franke, Andre, Rosenstiel, Philip, Zubek, Nana, Henning, Christian, Freitag-Wolf, Sandra, Dempfle, Astrid, Psilopanagioti, Aristea, Petrou-Papadaki, Helen, Lenk, Lennart, Jansen, Olav, Schreiber, Stefan, Laudes, Matthias
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Diabetes Association 01.09.2017
• Subjects: Adult; Animal models; Bacteria - classification; Biomarkers; Body weight loss; Case-Control Studies; Clinical trials; Environmental factors; Epigenesis, Genetic - physiology; Female; Gastrointestinal Tract - microbiology; Genetic factors; Genetics; High fat diet; Human subjects; Humans; Hypertriglyceridemia; Hypothalamus; Hypothalamus - diagnostic imaging; Hypothalamus - physiology; Inflammation; Inflammation - genetics; Inflammation - metabolism; Insulin; Insulin Resistance; JNK protein; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Obesity; Obesity - etiology; Obesity - metabolism; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - metabolism; rRNA 16S; Structure-function relationships; Surgery
• ISSN: 0012-1797; 1939-327X
• DOI: 10.2337/db17-0067

Obesity is associated with hypothalamic inflammation (HI) in animal models. In the current study, we examined the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) of 57 obese human subjects and 54 age- and sex- matched nonobese control subjects by MRI and analyzed the T2 hyperintensity as a measure of HI. Obese subjects exhibited T2 hyperintensity in the left but not the right MBH, which was strongly associated with systemic low-grade inflammation. MRS revealed the number of neurons in the left hypothalamic region to be similar in obese versus control subjects, suggesting functional but not structural impairment due to the inflammatory process. To gain mechanistic insights, we performed nutritional analysis and 16S rDNA microbiome sequencing, which showed that high-fat diet induces reduction of in the gut, which is significantly correlated with MBH T2 hyperintensity. In addition to these environmental factors, we found subjects carrying common polymorphisms in the or the gene to be more susceptible to HI. Finally, in a subgroup analysis, bariatric surgery had no effect on MBH T2 hyperintensity despite inducing significant weight loss and improvement of peripheral insulin sensitivity. In conclusion, obesity in humans is associated with HI and disturbances in the gut-brain axis, which are influenced by both environmental and genetic factors.