Fat May Be Useful in Treating Type 2 Diabetes

Researchers have discovered a new class of lipids called fatty-acid esters of hydroxyl fatty acids (FAHFAs) that may be a useful tool in the battle against type 2 diabetes.

A team led by investigators from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center administered FAHFAs to diabetic mice, and found that doing so improved their glucose metabolism and insulin secretion. This discovery may help lead to the development of novel medications to treat diabetes, according to the authors.
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“We are very eager to test the therapeutic effects of the novel lipids in people with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes, and eventually in people with autoimmune disorders,” says Barbara Kahn, MD, vice chair of research strategy in the department of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and co-author of the study.

“Since we know that blood and adipose tissue levels of many of these lipids are low in pre-diabetic and diabetic people, we think that restoring the levels to normal or above might prevent diabetes and improve glucose control in people who already have diabetes,” says Kahn, who notes that giving these novel lipids to diabetic mice not only improved their blood sugar and insulin secretion, but reduced inflammation in adipose tissue.

Kahn and her co-authors had been studying insulin resistance, which is believed to contribute to the progression of type 2 diabetes, but discovered they could create obese mice that were unusually sensitive to insulin. The authors hypothesized that FAHFAs were the cause of the heightened sensitivity, and reasoned that further research into these previously undiscovered fats could perhaps lead to the development of a diabetes therapy. Kahn and her team also measured FAHFA levels in human blood samples, finding lower levels of these compounds in individuals with insulin resistance.

“For primary care physicians, we don’t have a treatment using the novel lipids in people yet,” says Kahn. “But it is important to realize that there are definitely beneficial lipids that are made in human tissues, including fat cells.”

These lipids can be secreted into the blood and provide important signaling functions throughout the body, she says, adding that “physicians might appreciate knowing that adipose tissue is not ‘all bad’ by any means.

“Adipose tissue is an endocrine gland and a metabolic factory, which can have beneficial or detrimental effects on the body,” says Kahn. “Our discovery provides a mechanism by which healthy fat cells can have beneficial effects on the rest of the body.”

The findings from the study were initially presented at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, held March 22 - 26 in Denver, Colo.

—Mark McGraw