FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | August 30, 2007

Common virus may contribute to obesity in some people, new study shows

BOSTON, Aug. 20, 2007 — Scientists today reported new evidence that infection with a common virus may be a contributing factor to the obesity epidemic sweeping through the United States and other countries. In laboratory experiments they showed that infection with human adenovirus-36 (Ad-36), long recognized as a cause of respiratory and eye infections in humans, transforms adult stem cells obtained from fat tissue into fat cells. Stem cells not exposed to the virus, in contrast, were unchanged.

In addition, the study reported identification of a specific gene in the virus that appears to be involved in this obesity-promoting effect. The findings, which could lead to a vaccine or antiviral medication to help fight viral obesity in the future, were presented at the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

“We’re not saying that a virus is the only cause of obesity, but this study provides stronger evidence that some obesity cases may involve viral infections,” says study presenter Magdalena Pasarica, M.D., Ph.D., of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

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“Not all infected people will develop obesity,” she notes. “We would ultimately like to identify the underlying factors that predispose some obese people to develop this virus and eventually find a way to treat it.”

Pasarica was part of the original research group which demonstrated that the Ad-36 virus was capable of causing animals infected with the virus to accumulate fat. Led by Nikhil Dhurandhar, Ph.D., now an associate professor at Louisiana State University, the group also conducted a noted epidemiologic study — the first to associate a virus with human obesity — showing 30 percent of obese people were infected with the Ad-36 virus in comparison to 11 percent of lean individuals. But evidence that the virus could actually cause fat levels to increase in human cells was lacking until now, Pasarica says.

In the current study, Pasarica and her associates obtained adult stem cells from fatty tissue from a broad cross-section of patients who had undergone liposuction. Half of the stem cells were exposed to Ad-36 and the other half were not exposed to the virus.

After about a week of growth in tissue culture, most of the virus-infected adult stem cells developed into fat cells, whereas the non-infected stem cells did not, the researchers say.

Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Dhurandhar’s group recently identified a gene in the Ad-36 virus that appears to be involved in causing fat accumulation observed in infected animals. That gene, called E4Orfl, is now emerging as a promising target for future human therapies, such as vaccines and anti-viral medicines, aimed at preventing or inhibiting the obesity virus, she says.

The exact mechanism by which the virus might cause obesity in people is currently unknown, says Pasarica, who does not rule out the possibility that other human viruses may also contribute to obesity. Researchers also do not know how long the virus remains in the body of obese individuals nor how long its fat-enhancing effect lasts once the virus is gone. However, Pasarica notes a recent study demonstrated that animals that developed the virus remained obese up to six months after their infection was gone. More studies are needed, especially in humans, she adds.

Pasarica and her associates are now in the process of trying to identify the factors that predispose some people with the virus to develop obesity while others do not, but results of this investigation are not yet available, they say.

About 97 million adults in the United States are overweight or obese, according to NIH, and face an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, and other health disorders. Obesity has many established causes that include over-eating, eating high-fat foods, lack of exercise, a genetic predisposition and certain medications.

The American Chemical Society — the world’s largest scientific society — is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

— Mark T. Sampson

Note for reporters’ use only
For full information about the Boston meeting, including access to abstracts of more than 9,500 scientific papers and hundreds of non-technical summaries, visit the national meeting press center.
The paper on this research, BIOHW 003, will be presented at 10:15 a.m., Monday, Aug. 20, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Room 203, during the symposium, “Genomics of Obesity.”
Researcher Contact
Magdalena Pasarica, M.D., Ph.D.,
Obesity researcher
Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Email: Magdalena.Pasarica@pbrc.edu
Nikhil Dhurandhar, Ph.D.,
Associate professor
Louisiana State University.
Abstract
Human adenovirus Ad-36 causes adiposity in animal models and shows association with human obesity. Humans naturally infected with Ad-36 show greater preadipocyte differentiation. Our objective is to identify the mechanism of Ad-36 induced obesity. Human adipose derived stem cells (hASC) infected with Ad-36 show spontaneous commitment to the adipogenic lineage, differentiation to adipocytes and lipid accumulation. Ad-36 induced lipid accumulation in hASC increases in response to the viral load and the lipogenic response is observed regardless of the donor gender and over an age range of 22-57y. Furthermore, Ad-36 E4 Orf-1 gene is necessary and sufficient for the adipogenic effects of the virus. These results suggest that the ability to induce adipogenesis may contribute to Ad-36 induced adiposity in-vivo.
‘Researcher Provided Non-Technical Summary
Briefly explain in lay language what you have done, why it is significant and what are its implications (particularly to the general public)
Human Adenovirus 36 causes more, fatter fat cells; key gene found
A common virus appears to target stem cells in humans to generate more and bigger fat cells. Human adenovirus-36 (AD-36) is widespread in nature, causing respiratory and eye infections in humans. Early research, however, has also pinpointed AD-36 as the cause of obesity in animals, and that it is associated with human obesity.
Identifying how the virus may cause excess fat generation is critical in determining whether it is an actual cause of obesity in some humans.
We studied how Ad-36 acts on adult stem cells found in human fat by inserting the virus into laboratory samples of those stem cells.
The results are clear. AD-36 prompts adult, fat-derived stem cells to convert to pre-fat cells, rather than other cell types. Furthermore those pre-fat cells accumulated lipids (fats) at an increased rate. The end result is more, fatter fat cells. More importantly, we have identified the particular gene of AD-36 responsible for the fat promoting effect called E4Orf1. This is the initial step required for inactivation of the obesity promoting effect of the virus.
We conclude that human adenovirus Ad-36 increases the number fat cells and increases their fat content in humans, which might contribute to the development of obesity.
How new is this work and how does it differ from that of others who may be doing similar research?
This is the first study demonstration the effect of human adenovirus 36 on human adult stem stems.

The paper on this research, BIOHW 003, will be presented at 10:15 AM, Monday, 20 August 2007, during the symposium, "Genomics of Obesity."

BIOHW 003

Human Adenovirus 36 induces adipogenesis in human adipose derived stem cells

Program Selection: Biotechnology of Health and Wellness

Topic Selection: Genomics of Obesity