Public health research needs for molecular epidemiology and to emphasize homeostasis – could the omnipotent endopeptidase inhibitor α-2-macroglobulin be a meaningful biomarker?

Abstract

Public health authorities in low- and middle-income countries face dramatic challenges in handling rapidly increasing non-communicable diseases (NCDs), due to the epidemiological- and particularly nutritional transition. Among major reasons for the development of NCDs are smoking and alcohol, but overnutrition and obesity are also major threats to population health. Obesity is related to diabetes and cancer, but also has a genetic background. It is difficult to recommend a healthy nutrition. This is because of conflicting nutritional conceptions, and given the complexity of human metabolism understanding this topic can be difficult for the laymen.  Public health measures advocating physical activity and refraining from high intake of energy, sugar and soft drinks need to be enhanced by supporting the ‘intrinsic motivation’ to preserve a good health. The mission of public health should be to increase awareness about the complexity of human metabolism, and the involvement of genetic and epigenetics in health and diseases. To maintain homeostasis, means to keep an optimal relationship between catabolism and synthesis, seems to be of particular interest. Preconditions for this is, that public health institutions within the administration- and academic sector follow up developments in life science and molecular biology and conduct population-based research making use of molecular epidemiology, especially those related to key metabolic steps and maintenance of ‘homeostasis’, in balancing catabolism and anabolism. A prospective biomarker for this situation might be α-2-macroglobulin.