New AI atlas reveals how obesity affects the entire body
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An AI-powered “body atlas” helps scientists study obesity, allowing them to see its effects across the whole body in a single view rather than organ by organ.
A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool has mapped how obesity affects the entire body at the cellular level, revealing widespread damage far beyond fat tissue.
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The study, published in Nature, was led by researchers at Helmholtz Munich, Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) in Munich, and collaborating institutions.
The AI framework, called MouseMapper, builds a detailed 3D “atlas” of the whole body. It identifies organs, nerves, and immune cells across tens of millions of structures at once.
Until now, scientists could only study disease changes organ by organ. This system allows a full-body view in a single analysis.
How the AI maps the body
To create the atlas, researchers labelled nerves and immune cells in mice using fluorescent markers. The animals were then treated with tissue-clearing techniques, which made the bodies optically transparent while preserving these fluorescent signals.
Special light-sheet microscopy produced high-resolution 3D scans of entire bodies. The AI then automatically analysed the images and mapped 31 organs and tissue types.
This allowed researchers to see where inflammation and structural damage occur across the body at the same time.
RelatedObesity-linked damage across multiple organs
The team tested the system on mice fed a high-fat diet. These animals developed obesity and metabolic changes similar to humans.
The results showed widespread inflammation and tissue changes across several organs, including fat, liver, and muscle.
But the most unexpected findings were in the nervous system.
Researchers found major structural changes in the trigeminal nerve, which controls facial sensation. In obese mice, the nerve had fewer branches and endings.
This suggested a loss of normal sensory function. Behavioural tests confirmed that the mice responded less to touch and stimulation.
Signs also seen in humans
The scientists then analysed human tissue samples from people with obesity.
They found similar molecular changes in the trigeminal ganglion, the nerve centre linked to facial sensation.
This suggests that obesity-related nerve damage observed in mice may also occur in humans.
A step towards “digital twins” of disease
Researchers say the platform could transform how complex diseases are studied.
Instead of focusing on one organ at a time, scientists can now examine how diseases affect the entire body as a connected system.
The team also hopes to build “digital twins” of organisms in the future. These would allow researchers to simulate disease progression and test treatments before moving to physical experiments.
Such tools could speed up drug discovery and reduce the need for animal experiments.
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