Reduced Cellular Perception Can Cause Obesity

Do the cells in your body have two eyeballs to look about and see what is going on around them? Well, not exactly. What they do have is an exceptionally high-tech antenna, called primary cilia, projecting out from the surface of every cell in your body. New research proves that disruption of these cilia cause out-of-control eating and obesity.

For most of the past century scientists had no idea what these cilia were doing and so ignored them as a subject of interest. Now that we have scientific tools adequate to begin understanding their function the findings are extraordinary. Cilia are comprised of complex nanomachines that are instrumental to cellular function at the gene level. The cilia are sensing or seeing the external environment. Based on perception they are then sending signals into the cell to regulate cell function and growth.

Scientists now understand that true genetic problems with cilia are a primary cause of several diseases including polycystic kidney disease and congenital heart disease. Cilia gene-related problems can also cause liver disease and retinal degeneration. Because cilia are on every cell, true gene problems often involve multiple organ system issues that have previously been unexplained. Indeed, this is one of the new frontiers in our scientific understanding of our bodies.

Aside from genetic malfunction of cilia the next most important issue will be what happens when the function of cilia are not up to par. While there is currently almost no data published on this subject, the genetic findings indicate that cilia health and optimal function will be of immense importance to your health.

At this point we don't know whether or not there is a specific nutrient vital to cilia function. However, it is easy to suggest that any nutrient that boosts cell membrane health or any nutrient that protects cell membranes from inflammatory or toxic insult will be of benefit to the cilia. In other words, the more inflamed your cells the more likely cilia are to be in a less than optimal state of function. And we definitely know that a less than optimal state of cilia communication can have significantly bad effects in multiple places throughout your body.

The recent study that brought this topic to my awareness was conducted by researchers from the University of Alabama, Birmingham and presented at the December 6 American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 2011 Annual Meeting in Denver.

The researchers found disruption of the cilia within the hypothalamus gland (subconscious command and control center) disturbed appetite signaling to such an extent that overeating was the result. They documented that such a cilia problem could actually cause leptin resistance. In other words, when the cilia antenna in the hypothalamus went haywire the full-signal sensory system had no idea what was going on, like trying to listen to an AM radio station in a thunderstorm. The net result was overeating and leptin resistance.

This is of particular interest for those struggling to lose weight because many other studies are showing that a reduction in brain plasticity in the hypothalamus is associated with weight problems. This means that inflammatory wear and tear is a key problem in nagging weight issues and it is highly likely that cilia malfunction is part of that problem.

This data indicates that reducing inflammation in general and boosting brain plasticity for healthy nerve cell rejuvenation may be required for long term improvement in metabolism in those people who have ongoing issues eating more than they know they should, which is a lot of people. Part of the benefit to this approach means that the cilia on the newly produced brain cells may actually work properly, thereby helping to restore normal communication, cell function, and appetite signaling pathways – not to mention better health throughout your entire body. Realistically, such repair would be gradual over a period of months and therefore speaks to the importance of having willpower and consistently doing what you know is healthy while giving your body a chance to return to normal.