Activating the immune system could treat obesity and diabetes

Obesity is a worldwide epidemic that is causing alarming rates of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but currently there is a lack of effective drug treatments. Two unrelated studies published by Cell Press June 5th in the journal Cell reveal an important role for immune pathways in activating good types body fat, called brown and beige fat, which burn stored calories, reduce weight, and improve metabolic health. The findings could pave the way for much-needed treatments for obesity and related metabolic diseases.

“The idea that metabolic health can be improved by activation of immune cells in fat is pretty amazing,” says senior study author Bruce Spiegelman of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. “This research reveals an exciting new class of potential treatments that could one day be used for obesity-related disorders.”

Human infants have large amounts of heat-generating brown fat to protect them from extreme cold, and…