The fat hormone can play a role in asthma related to obesity

A new study suggests that a hormone released by adipose tissue is essential to the development of asthma badociated with obesity and could be a target for future treatments of the disease. The results will be presented on Saturday, March 23 at the Endocrine Society's ENDo 2019 Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.

With genetic susceptibility and environmental exposures, obesity is becoming a risk factor for asthma. Numerous studies have shown that obesity also affects the course of asthma. However, scientists do not understand how obesity contributes to asthma. It is estimated that 40% of asthmatics suffer from obesity.

"There is a great unmet need for new treatments for obesity-related asthma, as these patients are less sensitive to current treatments," said lead investigator Furkan Burak, MD. Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Brigham Hospital & Women's in Boston, Mbad.

The study focused on the adipose hormone aP2, which increases in the circulation of humans and obese animals. It is involved in inflammatory responses of the body and it has already been shown that it contributes to chronic inflammatory diseases badociated with obesity, such as diabetes and heart disease. In previous research, researchers detected an increase in aP2 levels in blood and lung fluid in obese mice.

In the new study, they measured levels of aP2 in the blood and lung fluid of people with and without asthma. They found that aP2 levels were 25.4% higher in the blood of people with asthma and met the criteria for obesity or being overweight, compared to people without asthma. Higher levels of aP2 were badociated with asthma status only in overweight or obese people. There was no significant difference in aP2 levels in normal weight individuals with and without asthma.

They also measured levels of aP2 in lung fluid collected from 13 obese individuals and 36 normal weight individuals with or without asthma. They found that the aP2 levels of the obese subjects were 23% higher than those of the other participants in the study.

"These data suggest that aP2 could be an independent risk factor for asthma badociated with obesity," said co-investigator Gurol Tuncman, MD Ph.D., of Harvard TH School Public Health Department. "The results also suggest that anti-aP2 treatments may hinder the development of obesity-related asthma and its chronic complications.Our studies represent an interesting opportunity for clinical translation of anti-aP2 drugs to treat asthma related to obesity. "

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Provided by
The endocrine society