Self-Nucleic Acid Sensing: A Novel Crucial Pathway Involved in Obesity-Mediated Metaflammation and Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract

Obesity and overweight are a global health problem affecting almost one third of the world population. There are multiple complications associated with obesity including metabolic syndrome that commonly lead to development of type II diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The development of metabolic syndrome and severe complications associated with obesity is attributed to the chronic low-grade inflammation that occurs in metabolic tissues such as the liver and the white adipose tissue. In recent years, nucleic acids (mostly DNA), which accumulate systemically in obese individuals, were shown to aberrantly activate innate immune responses and thus to contribute to metabolic tissue inflammation. This minireview will focus on (i) the main sources and forms of nucleic acids that accumulate during obesity, (ii) the sensing pathways required for their detection, and (iii) the key cellular players involved in this process. Fully elucidating the role of nucleic acids in the induction of inflammation induced by obesity would promote the identification of new and long-awaited therapeutic approaches to limit obesity-mediated complications.