WEDNESDAY, June 4 (HealthDay News) -- A new molecular signaling
pathway in fat cells that suppresses harmful inflammation has been
identified by Harvard School of Public Health researchers. The
pathway prevents the fat cells -- called adipocytes -- from
over-reacting to inflammation-causing stimulants such as fatty
acids in the diet.
However, the researchers also found that obesity-related
cellular stress can override the protective function and turn the
pathway into a trigger of chronic inflammation, leading to
increased risk of insulin resistance, diabetes and other metabolic
disorders.
In lean people, the newly identified signaling pathway acts as a
natural counterbalance to a parallel signaling pathway that
promotes inflammation and can lead to health problems.
"Overt obesity eventually overwhelms the protective effect of
this pathway and flips it into the pro-inflammatory pathway,"
senior author Chih-Hao Lee, assistant professor of genetics and
complex diseases, said in a prepared statement.
Lee and colleagues also pinpointed the molecular switch that
determines which pathway is activated under different conditions.
They said it may be possible to develop drugs designed to increase
the protective effect to more strongly suppress inflammation and
reduce the risk of insulin resistance, diabetes and other health
problems.
The study was published in the journal
Cell Metabolism.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases has more about
diabetes.
