The Korea Institute of Advanced Science and Technology (KAIST) is attracting attention by opening a new chapter in obesity research by revealing the mechanism by which obesity inhibits ‘herpes type 2’ which causes sexually transmitted diseases.
According to KAIST on the 6th, a research team led by Professor Lee Heung-gyu of the Graduate School of Medical Sciences found that obesity strengthens resistance to herpes type 2 infection.
Herpes virus type 2, a type of herpes virus, is a sexually transmitted disease that is mainly transmitted through the genitals, and can cause reduced immunity and inflammation of the nervous system. However, it is difficult to know if the infection is hidden in the ganglion, and there is a lack of vaccines and effective treatments.
The research team found that resistance to the virus develops through the interaction of commensal micro-organisms from the sheath and gamma delta T cells during herpes type 2 infection through the female genital tract.
It is known that obese women have a different composition of common microorganisms in the vagina than thin women.
Through experiments, the research team found that bacteria that appeared to originate from the intestine were mixed in the vagina of obese female mice, confirming that arginine plays an important role in the initial infection of the virus.
In addition, it was found that arginine strengthens the antiviral immune response of gamma delta T cells in the vagina and already prevents viral infection and spread earlier than when adaptive immune cells are activated.
Obesity is known to be a factor that has a negative impact on various diseases such as tumors and viral infections, but the research team expects to open a new field of obesity research in the future by observing a paradoxical phenomenon that can actually help.
The study was published on the 8th of last month in the international journal ‘Cell Report’ in the field of life science.
Professor Lee Heung-gyu of the KAIST Graduate School of Medical Sciences, who led the study, said, “It is meaningful as it has revealed that obesity can be helpful for some infectious diseases.” “We will use the molecular mechanism to accelerate the development of antiviral drugs.”
