adenovirus-37 linked to obesity

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http://news./s/nm/20060130/hl_nm/virus_obesity_dc

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Researchers have identified a new human

virus that increases fat deposits and, paradoxically, reduces

triglyceride levels in animals, according to a report in the American

Journal of Physiology -- Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative

Physiology.

These findings could have important clinical implications for

understanding and preventing obesity in humans, the authors suggest.

In earlier studies, Dr. L. Atkinson, and his colleagues from

the University of Wisconsin at Madison, had shown that inoculation

with adenovirus-36 increases fat levels and decreases cholesterol and

triglycerides levels in chickens, mice and nonhuman primates. Last

year, a different research group reported that adenovirus-5 promotes

obesity in mice.

In the present study, Atkinson's team looked at the effect on fat of

adenovirus -2, -31, and -37 in chickens. Of the three viruses, only

adenovirus-37 had a pronounced effect on fat.

Like adenovirus-36, adenovirus-37 produced a drop in triglyceride

levels, the investigators note. By contrast, adenovirus-37 increased

cholesterol levels, just the opposite of what had been seen with

adenovirus-36.

Increased fat cell differentiation and triglyceride accumulation were

seen with both adenovirus-31 and -37, but not with adenovirus-2, the

report indicates.

" The nearly simultaneous increase in the prevalence of obesity in most

countries of the world is difficult to explain by changes in food

intake and exercise alone, and suggests that adenoviruses could have

contributed, " the authors state.

" The role of adenoviruses in the worldwide epidemic of obesity is a

critical question that demands additional research. "

All adenoviruses are transmitted through direct contact and most

frequently result in respiratory illness. Depending on the type, they

may also cause gastrointestinal illness, eye infections, bladder

infections or rashes. Some types of adenovirus also cause persistent,

asymptomatic respiratory or gastrointestinal infections.

SOURCE: American Journal of Physiology -- Regulatory, Integrative, and

Comparative Physiology, January 2006.