A new study has found that a Western diet, high in sugar and fat, could damage the gut immune system in a way that increases the risk of infection and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
The diet was shown to impair the function of Paneth cells, crucial immune cells in the gut that help regulate inflammation.
The Research
The study, carried out by researchers from Washington University in St. Louis and published in Cell Host & Microbe, found that the Western diet impaired the function of Paneth cells, making the gut immune system more susceptible to inflammation.
This could elevate the risk of IBD and reduce control over disease-causing microbes.
The study used a database of 400 people, including data on their Paneth cells, and found a correlation between a high body mass index (BMI) and unhealthy-looking Paneth cells.
However, when obese mice (genetically predisposed to overeating) were fed a regular diet, their Paneth cells appeared normal.
When fed a high-fat, high-sugar diet equivalent to a Western diet, the mice became obese, and their Paneth cells looked abnormal.
The researchers discovered that a molecule known as deoxycholic acid, a secondary bile acid produced as a byproduct of gut bacteria metabolism, is the link between a Western diet and Paneth cell dysfunction.
This bile acid increases the activity of two immune molecules—farnesoid X receptor and type 1 interferon—that inhibit Paneth cell function.
Importance of the Study
This research suggests that the Western diet’s high-fat, high-sugar nature, rather than obesity itself, is a significant factor in damaging gut immunity.
The researchers are now focusing on whether fat or sugar plays a primary role in impairing Paneth cells.
They are also investigating potential ways to restore Paneth cell function and improve gut immunity, potentially through targeting the bile acid or the two immune molecules.
This study underlines the impact of diet on gut immunity and may open new avenues for treating and preventing conditions like IBD.
However, more research is needed to determine whether changes in diet can reverse this process in people who habitually consume a Western diet.
The work received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Helmsley Charitable Trust, and Washington University’s Genome Technology Access Center and Digestive Disease Research Core Center.
If you care about health, please read studies about a diet that can treat fatty liver disease and obesity, and coffee drinkers may halve their risk of liver cancer.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that anti-inflammatory diet could help prevent fatty liver disease, and results showing vitamin D could help prevent non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
The study was published in Cell Host & Microbe.
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