Gene therapy could help obese kids avoid health problems associated with excess weight, including arthritis, a new, preliminary study in mice suggests.

The gene therapy prompts cells to convert inflammation-causing omega-6 fatty acids into beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, researchers reported Oct. 14 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Overweight mice who received a single injection of the gene therapy improved their overall metabolic health as well as early symptoms of knee arthritis.

“What we are observing is that obesity results in old knees in young patients,” said investigator Farshid Guilak, director of research with Shriners Children’s St. Louis.

Nearly 20% of children and teens are considered obese, the researchers noted.

Obesity-related arthritis is promoted by highly inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids, which come from fatty and fried foods, researchers said. These fats can promote arthritis and heart disease as well as metabolic disorders.

On the other hand, omega-3 fatty acids are known to reduce inflammation and promote insulin sensitivity and fat-burning. These fats are found in fish and nuts.

“The types of fatty acids children consume play a significant role in a child’s weight gain,” said researcher Ruhang Tang, a senior scientist with Shriners Children’s St. Louis. “And once children are obese, it opens the door for other significant health problems that can be hard to reverse.”

Given this, researchers developed a therapy which places the gene for a specific enzyme into cells, altering the way they process harmful fats. The therapy is delivered inside a hollowed-out, inactivated virus.

“The gene therapy we developed will automatically convert omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in your body, effectively turning bad fats into good fats,” Guilak said in a hospital news release.

Mice given the test therapy had a type of arthritis common in children called “post-traumatic arthritis,” caused by a tear in the meniscus tissue that stabilizes and cushions the knee joint.

The therapy significantly decreased the harmful effects of a high-fat omega-6-rich diet on the knee arthritis, weight and metabolism in the lab mice, researchers report.

The therapy also lowered the number of cells that promote inflammation, researchers noted.

“Arthritis can be a very painful and debilitating condition for children, so we’re hopeful that this research will help reduce the risk of it developing and make treatments more effective,” Guilak said. “The implications for how this research might be used in the future are vast, but we’re excited about the potential for it to help kids lead healthier lives.”

The researchers hope to bring the gene therapy into human clinical trials within the next three to five years.

More information

The Cleveland Clinic has more on the long-term effects of childhood obesity.

SOURCE: Shriners Hospitals for Children, news release, Oct. 14, 2024

Source: HealthDay