Immune cells retain obesity memory for up to 10 years
Updated
Updated · ScienceAlert · May 1
Immune cells retain obesity memory for up to 10 years
11 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · May 1
Researchers from the University of Birmingham, Queen Mary University London and Maynooth University linked helper T-cell DNA methylation to persistent inflammatory changes after weight loss.
The EMBO Reports study analysed people losing weight through 10 weeks of exercise or semaglutide, plus Alström syndrome cases, controls, mice and blood donors.
The findings suggest short-term weight loss may not quickly cut risks such as type 2 diabetes and some cancers, while sustained weight management over five to 10 years may gradually reverse effects.
If weight loss isn't enough, are repurposed drugs the only way to reverse obesity’s persistent immune damage?
How does a high-fat diet reprogram our immune system, and can specific lifestyle changes break this harmful cycle?
Epigenetic Imprints in CD4+ T Cells Explain Why Weight Loss Often Fails Long-Term
Overview
Recent research reveals that obesity causes lasting epigenetic changes in immune cells and fat tissue, which persist for 5 to 10 years after weight loss. These changes disrupt key cellular functions, forcing immune cells into a pro-inflammatory state that maintains chronic inflammation. This persistent immune and adipose tissue dysfunction creates a biological barrier to full metabolic recovery and increases the risk of related diseases. Weight cycling worsens this effect by reinforcing these epigenetic changes, making them harder to reverse. Promising therapies like SGLT2 inhibitors help clear harmful senescent cells and reduce inflammation, while long-term weight maintenance is crucial to erase these epigenetic marks and restore healthy immune and fat tissue function.