Wayne State Nutrition and Food Science Professor Nikhil V. Dhurandhar recently headed a symposium at the Experimental Biology 2003 meeting in San Diego on his research regarding a viral cause of obesity in some humans.

Dhurandhar conducted the symposium on April 13 titled: "Infectobesity: Obesity of Infectious Origins," with his colleague and co-discoverer Richard Atkinson, of the Medstar Institute in Washington D.C.

Dhurandhar's research identified a human virus known as Ad-36 that is connected with human obesity. The virus speeds up the transformation of cells from immature adiopocytes or fat cells to fully formed fat cells. The faster the fat cells are transformed, results in more fat cells in the body.

Dhurandhar's research is trying to determine the mechanism from which the transformation takes place. Dhurandhar's laboratory is researching which genes of the Ad-36 virus are interacting with the genes of the immature fat cells to create this speeded up effect.

Atkinson described antibody-screening studies of obese and non-obese people. Essentially, when the body is exposed to a virus, the immune system produces antibodies to that virus, leaving clear evidence of prior exposure. Only 11 percent of non-obese people have antibodies to the Ad-36 "obesity" virus, compared to 30 percent of obese people, the studies found. In general, antibody positive people are significantly heavier.

Dhurandhar and Atkinson consider the research on "infectobesity" critical for two key reasons. The first reason is the research helps establish a clearer understanding of the multi-causes of obesity, thus helping scientists develop effective treatments. Secondly, the research keeps alive the notion that some obesity has viral origins so scientists will continue to search for obesity-causing pathogens.

"If we've already found seven such pathogens, how many more may be out there?" Dhurandhar said.

Dhurandhar's obesity research has generated quite a bit of interest both in the science community and media. He is an assistant professor in the William W. Hardy Endowed Chair in Obesity Research at Wayne State. Dhurandhar recently appeared on TV Tokyo in a segment on the infectobesity and viral causes. The Los Angeles-based crew came to interview Dhurandhar in his Science Hall lab on a wintry February day and aired the segment later that month.