Reporter and Curator: Dr. Sudipta Saha, Ph.D.
Obesity is a global concern that is associated with many chronic complications such as type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance (IR), cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Growing evidence has implicated the digestive system, including its microbiota, gut-derived incretin hormones, and gut-associated lymphoid tissue in obesity and IR. During high fat diet (HFD) feeding and obesity, a significant shift occurs in the microbial populations within the gut, known as dysbiosis, which interacts with the intestinal immune system. Similar to other metabolic organs, including visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and liver, altered immune homeostasis has also been observed in the small and large intestines during obesity.
A link between the gut microbiota and the intestinal immune system is the immune-derived molecule immunoglobulin A (IgA). IgA is a B cell antibody primarily produced in dimeric form by plasma cells residing in the gut lamina propria (LP). Given the importance of IgA on intestinal–gut microbe immunoregulation, which is directly influenced by dietary changes, scientists hypothesized that IgA may be a key player in the pathogenesis of obesity and IR. Here, in this study it was demonstrate that IgA levels are reduced during obesity and the loss of IgA in mice worsens IR and increases intestinal permeability, microbiota encroachment, and downstream inflammation in metabolic tissues, including inside the VAT.
IgA deficiency alters the obese gut microbiota and its metabolic phenotype can be recapitulated into microbiota-depleted mice upon fecal matter transplantation. In addition, the researchers also demonstrated that commonly used therapies for diabetes such as metformin and bariatric surgery can alter cellular and stool IgA levels, respectively. These findings suggested a critical function for IgA in regulating metabolic disease and support the emerging role for intestinal immunity as an important modulator of systemic glucose metabolism.
Overall, the researchers demonstrated a critical role for IgA in regulating intestinal homeostasis, metabolic inflammation, and obesity-related IR. These findings identify intestinal IgA+ immune cells as mucosal mediators of whole-body glucose regulation in diet-induced metabolic disease. This research further emphasized the importance of the intestinal adaptive immune system and its interactions with the gut microbiota and innate immune system within the larger network of organs involved in the manifestation of metabolic disease.
Future investigation is required to determine the impact of IgA deficiency during obesity in humans and the role of metabolic disease in human populations with selective IgA deficiency, especially since human IgA deficiency is associated with an altered gut microbiota that cannot be fully compensated with IgM. However, the research identified IgA as a critical immunological molecule in the intestine that impacts systemic glucose homeostasis, and treatments targeting IgA-producing immune populations and SIgA may have therapeutic potential for metabolic disease.
References:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-11370-y?elqTrackId=dc86e0c60f574542b033227afd0fdc8e
https://www.jci.org/articles/view/88879
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2012pharmaceutical
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