Fragments of bacteria leaking into the body from the gut are damaging fat cells and driving weight gain, research suggests. Scientists at Nottingham Trent University have found that these microbe fragments, known as endotoxins, are able to enter the blood stream and directly affect how well fat cells function.
The researchers said their findings, recently published in the journal BMC medicine, help shed light on how endotoxins may drive obesity and associated disease such as type 2 diabetes. They also added that weight loss interventions such as bariatric surgery "can reverse the damage our gut can pose to our fat cells, which ultimately will have a major impact on our health".
Endotoxins are toxic substances present inside bacterial cell walls and released when it ruptures or disintegrates. In a healthy gut, endotoxins are part of the lifecycle of microbes that play a key role in overall human health.
