In what is believed to be a world first discovery, researchers from the University of Otago, in New Zealand, discovered that wheat gluten can cause brain inflammation in mice, according to News.ro.
The research, published in the Journal of Neuroendocrinology, may also be important for human physiology.
“Mice are an excellent model for studying human physiology. They have a very similar circulatory, reproductive, digestive, hormonal and nervous system. So it’s very possible that the same inflammation that we discovered in mice could also happen in humans.” , says Professor Alex Tups who led the study.
The study investigated whether a standard diet, called a low-fat diet (LFD), enriched with 4.5% gluten (corresponding to the average daily intake in humans), or a high-fat diet (HFD), enriched with 4.5% gluten, alters body weight, metabolic markers, or central inflammation in male mice.
Gluten, found in grains such as wheat, rye and barley, is a major dietary component in most Western nations.
While previous studies have shown that gluten promotes weight gain and inflammation in mice in the enteric nervous system and gastrointestinal tract, we investigated the impact of gluten on the brain.
Although somewhat predictably, the study confirmed a “moderate obesogenic effect of gluten when administered to mice exposed to a high-fat diet.”
“For the first time we can report gluten-induced hypothalamic (cerebral) inflammation,” says Professor Tups.
The brain has two types of immune cells similar to blood macrophages. These are called astrocytes and microglia.
The team found that gluten, as well as HFD, increases the number of these immune cells.
“The effect of gluten added to the normal diet increased the number of cells to the same extent as when the mice were fed the HFD. When gluten was added to the HFD, the number of cells increased even more.”
The hypothalamic region of the brain is vital for coordinating basic metabolic functions, such as regulating body weight and regulating blood sugar.
According to the researchers, if gluten leads to inflammation of the hypothalamus in humans and thus brain damage, this can be bad in the long term, such as weight gain and impaired blood sugar regulation.
At the same time, if these effects were to become persistent, they could exacerbate the risk of, for example, memory impairment, which is linked to disturbed blood sugar regulation.
“It is not known why this happens,” says Professor Tups.
“It’s something completely new and therefore we don’t know yet why this is happening,” he said.
Researchers suspect that certain digestion-resistant components of wheat gluten may lead to an immune response, as seen in celiac patients, that then manifests in the brain.
Future studies are needed to confirm whether this has implications for people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, says the professor, who added that the finding does not mean people should suddenly stop eating gluten.
“We’re not saying that gluten is bad for everyone. For gluten-tolerant people, giving up gluten completely can have health implications that may outweigh the potential benefits,” he points out.
People often do not eat whole foods, and highly processed gluten-free products are often low in fiber and high in sugar.
“We say that future studies must reveal whether our findings in mice can be transposed to humans and whether gluten-induced astro- and microgliosis can also develop in gluten-sensitive individuals,” added the professor.
2023-08-09 11:49:58
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