Updated July 04, 2014 13:45:00

A European study has revealed a molecule called HO-1 causes a slow metabolism and increases the risk of type 2 diabetes in people who are obese. Researchers say when they blocked the molecule in obese mice, it sped up their metabolism.

Source: The World Today | Duration: 2min 55sec

Topics: obesity, european-union


TANYA NOLAN: There's new hope for the treatment of obesity.

European researchers say they've uncovered evidence of a molecule they say is to blame for slow metabolism and a higher risk of type 2 diabetes in people who are obese.

Stephanie Smail reports.

STEPHANIE SMAIL: Harald Esterbauer from the Medical University of Vienna says up to a quarter of people who are obese actually have a healthy metabolism and aren't at risk of type 2 diabetes.

He went looking for the molecule HO-1 that supposedly made that possible.

Mr Esterbauer says other research had established it was anti-inflammatory but it turned out to be the opposite.

HARALD ESTERBAUER: Two key aspects of unhealthy obesity are directly influenced by this molecule. We also found that this is not just an association, this molecule HO-1 is directly involved in this process.

STEPHANIE SMAIL: Researchers collected liver and fat biopsies from obese patients undergoing gastric bypass surgery to test the molecule's behaviour.

The study was done in two parts. The first, analysing the human samples; the second, testing the results on mice.

Harald Esterbauer says when researchers blocked the HO-1 molecule in obese mice, it sped up their metabolisms.

HARALD ESTERBAUER: If we take it out, we can within a very short period of time increase the power of this mitochondria, increase respiration and promote the burning of foods like sugar and fat.

STEPHANIE SMAIL: Harald Esterbauer describes HO-1 as a bad guy in metabolic disease.

He says high levels of the molecule in liver and fat tissue are a good predictor of insulin resistance, pointing to an increased risk of diabetes.

He says the findings could assist with early diagnosis.

HARALD ESTERBAUER: We have a new biomarker in our hands that can identify obese subjects, obese individuals that are at risk to develop diabetes. So it's a surveillance marker, a flag. So if it's higher we know something is going on and it's acting very early on.

STEPHANIE SMAIL: Harald Esterbauer says more research is needed to establish whether the HO-1 molecule can be picked up in blood tests as well as tissue samples.

He says there's potential to develop blockers for HO-1 to keep a person's metabolism healthy.

HARALD ESTERBAUER: We have a new target and we may be able to use this target to block HO-1 as an example in the liver, in the parasites and by doing so we may be able to prevent liver damage and liver damage is increasing all over the world as a side effect of obesity. This leads to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

If we can block this, it would have a major, major impact on the health of our obese patients.

TANYA NOLAN: And that's Harald Esterbauer from the Medical University of Vienna ending Stephanie Smail's report.