Enterocyte Superoxide Dismutase 2 Deletion Drives Hyperinsulinemia and Obesity

Compelling evidence support an involvement of oxidative stress and intestinal inflammation as early events in the predisposition and development of obesity and its related comorbidities. Here we show that deficiency of the major mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) in the gastrointestinal tract drives spontaneous obesity. Intestinal epithelium-specific Sod2 ablation in mice induced adiposity, inflammation and insulin resistance via phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activation and increased synthesis of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid arachidonic acid. Remarkably, this obese and hyperinsulinemic phenotype was rescued when fed an essential fatty acid deficient diet, which abrogates de novo biosynthesis of arachidonic acid. Data from clinical samples revealed that the negative correlation between intestinal SOD2 mRNA levels and obesity features, such as body mass index and omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio, appears to be conserved between mice and humans. Collectively, our findings suggest a role of intestinal SOD2 levels, PLA2 activity and arachidonic acid in obesity presenting new potential targets of therapeutic interest in the context of this metabolic disorder. To explore correlations between colon transcriptomics and clinical and metabolomics data in human subjects with different degrees of body mass index (BMI), colonic biopsies were obtained and processed for RNA extraction