Engineered gut bacteria may reduce health problems come with obesity read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/714-engineered-gut-bacteria-may-reduce-health-problems-come-with-obesity

A new therapy, engineered gut bacteria may help reduce the health problems that come with obesity.

Scientists have recently discovered that the microorganisms living in our gut, known as the gut microbiota, play an important role in obesity and may offer a new therapeutic target. 

More than one-third of adults in the U.S. are obese, putting them at greater risk for conditions such as fatty liver disease caused by fatty deposits building up in the liver and atherosclerosis, the hardening and narrowing of the arteries.

Researchers led by Sean Davies, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology at Vanderbilt University, find out an engineered gut bacteria that produce a small lipid that helps suppress appetite and reduce inflammation. People who are obese typically produce less of this lipid, which is made by the small intestine.

Davies said, previously this approach with engineered bacteria could inhibit obesity when standard mice were fed a high-fat diet.

New studies focused on mice highly prone to develop atherosclerosis and fatty liver disease, showed that the engineered bacteria were beneficial not only in inhibiting obesity, but also in protecting against fatty liver disease and somewhat against atherosclerosis.

Researchers found that standard mice fed a high-fat diet while also receiving the engineered bacteria gained less body weight and body fat than mice given standard drinking water or control bacteria.

These mice accumulated less fat in the liver and showed reduced expression of markers of liver fibrosis, compared to mice that did not receive the treatment. The treated mice also exhibited a modest trend toward reduced atherosclerotic plaques.