Obesity is caused by many complex factors, some of which are yet unknown. Researchers from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Inserm, Pierre and Marie Curie University (UPMC) and Paris Descartes University, in collaboration with clinician researchers from the Paris Public Hospitals (AP-HP), have just shown that severe obesity is accompanied by inflammation of the small intestine and a strengthening of the immune defences in that area. This phenomenon reduces enterocyte[1] sensitivity to insulin and increases nutrient absorption, thus exacerbating the disease. This work, carried out at the Cordelier Research Centre (Inserm/UPMC/Paris Descartes University) and the Institute of Cardiometabolism and Nutrition (ICAN – Inserm/UPMC/AP-HP), is published on 18 June in the journal Cell Metabolism.

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Press release – Inserm press room – The small intestine is involved in chronic inflammation in obese people

Also available in French