A new study from the University of Michigan (USA) reveals thata protein called Bcl10 is necessary for free fatty acids, found in foods high in fat and stored in the body’s adipocytes,obstruct the action of insulinand reach abnormally high blood sugar levels. The research, to be published in the journalCell Reports, provides new clues about the molecular changes detrimental to health that are initiated by eating foods high in fat.
In the laboratory study of mice deficient in the Bcl10 protein, rodents were protected from the development of insulin resistance by feeding a high-fat diet. Insulin helps control blood sugar, but insulin resistance can lead to the abnormally high blood sugar levels that are hallmarks of diabetes. Insulin resistance can occur as part of metabolic syndrome, a set of conditions that increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
“The work shows how very short-term changes in diet, such as eating high-fat meals for a few days, and perhaps even less, can induce a state of insulin resistance,” explained Meter C. Lucas , co-author of the research.
The researchers began by studying howfree fatty acids induce inflammation and obstruct the action of insulin in the liver. In the liver, free fatty acids are metabolized and produce diacylglycerols before inducing the inflammatory response. Diacylglycerols also activate factor NF-kB, which has been linked to cancer and metabolic and vascular diseases. The research team found that Bcl10 is necessary for fatty acids to induce inflammation and insulin resistance. In fact, in the study, Bcl10-deficient mice showed a significant improvement in blood sugar regulation.
According to scientists, this is an example of how nature sometimes appropriates a fundamental mechanism for the immune system and uses it in a metabolic organ, in this case the liver.
