THE saturated fats contribute to the development of the diabetes and can make the disease worse. This was declared by a team of scientists from the Nanyang Technological University, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) in Singapore (NTU Singapore) which in a recent research has explored the topic.
The results of the study have been published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ( PNAS ).
Responsibility of saturated fat in diabetes: this is what the research says
In order to verify this insight, the research team relied on experiments on laboratory-grown mouse cells and on mice fed a diet high in saturated fat, thus discovering that saturated fatty acids can break down a protein called FIT2triggering a chain of molecular events that cause insulin-producing cells to lose their function and die.
When these cells die, the body’s ability to secrete enough insulin in response to carbohydrates is impaired, resulting in diabetes. Partial restoration of FIT2 levels in insulin-producing cells, however, could mitigate the damage caused by saturated fat.
These findings point to the potential to increase FIT2 production in the body as a new method of managing diet-induced diabetes. Also called type 2 diabetes, the metabolic condition accounts for 95% of diabetes cases, affecting approximately 462 million people worldwide.
Scientists said the study also reinforces, for diabetic patients, the importance of moderating the consumption of meat and dairy products, in addition to sugar and carbohydrates, as saturated fats are found in high amounts in red meats, processed meats. and in dairy products.
The Associate Professor Yusuf Ali, Director of Nutrition, Metabolism and Health Program at NTU LKCMedicine and lead author of the study, said: “Studies have identified saturated fat as the ‘unhealthy fat’ that leads to diabetes, but the mechanisms have not been clear. the study confirms this link and traces a path through which this happens. We also identify a new protein that we could target with new therapies to help manage the disease. ”
In terms of nutrition, the findings suggest that diabetic patients who turn to protein in white rice may need to control their intake of saturated fats, which are found at high levels in red meats and other meats and dairy products “.
Professor Lim Su Chi, non-research expert, senior endocrinologist consultant at Admiralty Diabetes Center at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, said: “Most people are aware that a diet high in saturated fat can lead to heart disease. However, few may know that dietary saturated fat can also increase the risk of diabetes or worsen diabetes control. “
“This is seen in the important study by Prof Yusuf Ali of Assoc, which explains how saturated fats can interfere with our pancreas’s ability to maintain healthy blood sugar, causing or worsening diabetes. Therefore, I would ask anyone with diabetes and pre-diabetes to eat healthily and reduce their saturated fat intake. This is the advice I would give to my patients ”.
Insulin is produced only in the pancreas by beta cells that respond quickly to sugar intake and spikes in blood glucose concentrations by secreting some of the stored insulin and simultaneously producing more.
In addition to sugar, the beta cells also absorb fats and store them inside the so-called lipodic droplets. This fat storage regulates metabolism and prevents cell death due to lipotoxicity, the result of too many fatty acids in the cell. Lipid droplets are produced in the presence of an important protein called FIT2 (transmembrane protein 2 that induces fat storage), as shown in a previous study.
Through the exposure of pancreatic beta cells to the palmitate (saturated fat found in foods such as palm oil), the team at NTU LKCMedicine has shown that saturated fat degrades FIT2 proteins in cells, causing the number of lipid droplets to decrease.
In contrast, mouse cells that were exposed to oleate (unsaturated fat found in vegetable oils such as olive oil) had twice as many FIT2 proteins and lipid droplets.
Assoc Prof Yusuf explained: “When the number of lipid droplets in a beta cell decreases, the cell’s natural ability to regulate fatty acids is impaired, resulting in a lipotoxic environment that leads to cellular dysfunction and death. With fewer cells capable of producing insulin to keep blood glucose levels under control, diabetes eventually develops. “
Scientists confirmed their cell studies by studying mice that eat a Western diet high in saturated fat and refined sugars, much like a fast food diet.
In one group of mice, the scientists removed the part of the gene that codes for the FIT2 protein in pancreatic beta cells to remove FIT2 specifically in these cells. In the control group, the FIT2 protein remained intact. With the FIT2 protein present in most cells in the body, removing only FIT2 proteins from beta cells would allow scientists to understand how FIT2 proteins from beta cells contribute to diabetes.
After placing both groups of mice on a 25-week diet rich in saturated fat and carbohydrates, the scientists found that the mice without beta cell FIT2 had higher blood glucose levels and that these mice struggled to keep up. check blood glucose levels following a glucose challenge.
Mice with the cell-specific beta gene deletion also secreted lower levels of insulin. This suggests that the loss of FIT2 in beta cells compromised cellular function and, consequently, the mechanisms of glucose regulation throughout the body, leading to diabetes.
Preliminary studies in mouse cells, however, suggest that stimulating an overproduction of the FIT2 protein could help mitigate the effect of palmitate.
To prove this, the scientists first artificially introduced a FIT2 gene into the mouse cell, then exposed the cell to palmitate, which caused the FIT2 proteins in the cell to degrade. As a result, the number of lipid droplets decreased.
However, due to the FIT2 gene being artificially introduced into the cell, the cell continued to produce some FIT2 proteins, partially compensating for the protein loss due to palmitate exposure. As a result, the number of lipid droplets in the cell increased significantly.
Assoc Prof Yusuf stated: “Taken together, our findings suggest that saturated fatty acids may disable lipid droplet formation in pancreatic beta cells by targeting the FIT2 protein, leading to diabetes. Therefore, restoring the formation of lipid droplets in cells could have significant therapeutic value in preventing dysfunction and loss of beta cells during pre-diabetes and the progression of type 2 ‘diabetes.
The team is now further examining how this mechanism they discovered could help them get one step closer to a new way of managing diabetes.
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