Research

Hormonal

Deletion of the endocannabinoid-synthesizing enzyme NAPE-PLD specifically in adipose tissue causes obesity, glucose intolerance, and insulin resistance in mice, primarily through impaired adipose browning and altered gut microbiota composition.

This research suggests that the health of your fat tissue is not passive. If the enzymes that produce certain signaling lipids (endocannabinoids) in your fat cells are disrupted, it can trigger a cascade leading to obesity and insulin resistance, partly by changing your gut bacteria. While this is a genetic mouse model, it highlights that metabolic health involves complex communication between fat, gut, and brain, not just food intake.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
We found in this study that Napepld deletion in adipose tissue leads to development of obesity, impairment of glucose and lipid homeostasis along with altered adipose tissue metabolism and changes in gut microbiota composition.
Lucie Geurts et al. · Nature Communications · 2015

Why this rating

High-quality mechanistic evidence using conditional knockout mice, germ-free transfers, and multiple metabolic assays, though limited to murine models.

Source

Adipose tissue NAPE-PLD controls fat mass development by altering the browning process and gut microbiota

Lucie Geurts et al. · Nature Communications · 2015

DOI 10.1038/ncomms7495

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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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