Researchers have discovered that derivatives of natural emulsifiers like phospholipids, commonly found in high-fat, high-cholesterol diets, could stimulate atherosclerosis via gut bacteria interactions with the immune system.
This new finding could provide targeted prevention strategies for individuals susceptible to heart disease.
While obesity and a high-cholesterol, high-fat diet are widely recognized risk factors for atherosclerosis, the precise mechanistic connection between obesity and atherosclerosis remains unclear.
The researchers of this study propose that this connection may lie in how certain derivatives of natural emulsifiers present in a Western diet affect the interaction between gut-resident bacteria and the cells lining the intestines.
The findings were published in the Journal of Lipid Research.
The Intestines: Our Dietary Window to the Body
According to Srinivasa Reddy, professor of medicine at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and corresponding author on the study, “The gut is the dietary window to the body.”
Atherosclerosis, commonly referred to as “hardening of the arteries,” occurs when cholesterol, phospholipids and other fats; immune cells; and fibrous components accumulate as plaque in blood vessels, potentially restricting blood flow and resulting in heart attacks or strokes.
“We study natural emulsifiers in the diet called phospholipids,” explained Alan Fogelman, a professor of medicine at UCLA and project supervisor.
“These emulsifiers can be converted by specific enzymes in the intestinal cells into very potent pro-inflammatory molecules in the body.”
From the Intestines to the Bloodstream
Using a mouse model, the researchers found that cells lining the small intestine produce reactive phospholipids in response to a high-fat high-cholesterol diet, leaving the intestinal lining more susceptible to gut bacteria.
The high intake of cholesterol and fat compromises the intestinal lining cells’ defense against bacteria, allowing them to come into direct contact with the enterocytes, the cells lining the intestines.
This interaction results in the release of more bacterial products, like endotoxins, into the bloodstream, causing inflammation.
“Obese individuals and those consuming high-fat, high-cholesterol diets have higher levels of endotoxin in their blood,” Fogelman said.
“The presence of cholesterol and fat, coupled with endotoxin, amplifies the inflammation, accelerating atherosclerosis and increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.”
The team is exploring ways to reduce the release of these inflammation-inducing phospholipid derivatives into the bloodstream.
One promising approach involves using a mimetic of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), often known as “good cholesterol.”
Arnab Chattopadhyay, project scientist at UCLA and lead author of the study, revealed that they have developed transgenic tomatoes in their lab that mimic the good cholesterol, HDL.
“These tomatoes, when added to a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet, help lower cholesterol and triglycerides and also lower the inflammatory derivatives of the phospholipids.”
The researchers believe that this strategy of reducing cholesterol levels and triglycerides could be beneficial for obese individuals at risk for inflammatory diseases like atherosclerosis, arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, among others.
If you care about nutrition, please read studies about a breakfast linked to better blood vessel health, and drinking too much coffee could harm people with high blood pressure.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about unhealthy habits that may increase high blood pressure risk, and results showing plant-based protein foods may help reverse diabetes.
The study was published in the Journal of Lipid Research.
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