Researchers at MedUni Vienna have made a significant discovery about the role of leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells, in controlling liver fat metabolism in humans.
Their findings suggest a new avenue for treating metabolic conditions like fatty liver disease.
What is Leptin? Leptin is a hormone produced by fat cells. Its primary role is to act as a hunger suppressant, signaling the brain when the body has enough energy stored.
But leptin doesn’t just influence appetite. It also plays a part in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism.
The Study and its Goals
The research led by Thomas Scherer and Matthäus Metz aimed to uncover the specific ways leptin influences liver fat metabolism, especially those not related to its role in appetite control.
Leptin’s effect on metabolism is communicated through the autonomic nervous system, the system responsible for unconscious bodily functions like breathing and digestion.
This system bridges the gap between the brain and vital organs, including the liver and fat tissues.
Past animal studies revealed that leptin can decrease fat in the liver by both promoting the release of lipids and inhibiting new lipid production.
But this only worked when the liver had a working connection with the autonomic nervous system, shown by the fact that the effect disappeared when the vagus nerve, a significant component of this system, was cut.
Using human participants, the researchers discovered:
- Administering metreleptin (a form of leptin) led to increased lipid release from the liver and reduced liver fat in healthy, normal-weight men.
- A procedure that naturally activates the vagus nerve also had a similar effect.
- In liver transplant recipients, whose livers aren’t connected to the autonomic nervous system due to the transplant process, metreleptin didn’t enhance lipid secretion.
Implications and Conclusion
This study solidifies the idea that leptin regulates liver fat through the brain and the autonomic nervous system, similar to observations from animal models.
It means that leptin might be preventing fatty liver development, separate from its role in suppressing appetite.
Additionally, the findings highlight the brain’s influence over liver fat metabolism through the autonomic nervous system.
This breakthrough suggests that treatments targeting the central nervous system could be developed to combat fatty liver disease, a common health issue worldwide.
If you care about liver 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 liver 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 Metabolism.
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