Interleukin-6, a signalling molecule, plays a key role in losing fat after exercise, researchers have discovered, overturning the prevailing belief that it’s all down to the fight-or-flight hormone, epinephrine.
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen noticed that obese people who were taking the rheumatoid arthritis drug tocilizumab weren’t losing abdominal fat. The drug increases cholesterol levels – and also blocks interleukin-6 activity.
They tested the theory on a group of 53 obese participants who took part in a 12-week exercise programme, which included regular sessions on a static exercise bike. Half were given a saline placebo drip, and the rest were instead drip-fed the drug.
Those on the saline drip lost around 8 per cent of visceral fat – which accumulates around the heart and liver – but there was no fat loss among those given tocilizumab. They also had higher levels of cholesterol as a result of taking the drug.
People who are obese or suffer from type 2 diabetes or heart disease tend to either have low levels of interleukin-6, the researchers say, or whose interleukin isn’t signalling healthily.
(Source: Cell Metabolism, 2018; doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.12.007)
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