Scientists at the University of California at Irvine have discovered the harmful effects of heat on the gut, liver and brain of older adults. The results of the study were published in the journal Scientific Reports.
During the experiments, researchers subjected adult mice to heat stress. The animals showed a significant increase in the production of ORM2, a protein produced by the liver. At the same time, no changes were observed in a control group of mice without stress, evidence of harmful effects. It is hypothesized that increased ORM2 secretion is a compensatory mechanism that may be caused by inflammation and intestinal imbalance. Furthermore, ORM2 may affect the brain through a permeable blood-brain barrier, disrupting the joint function of the gut, liver and brain.
The results demonstrate the potential use of ORM2 in the design of biomarkers to prevent liver disease when subjected to heat stress. /BGNES