Cellular and molecular mechanisms by which fatty acids regulate adipose tissue metabolism.

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

While fat in the diet is an important source of energy, there is a lot of confusion in our society about which fats are "good" and which ones are "bad". A big part of the problem has been the tendency to group different fats together and then make general statements about them. For example, it is widely believed that all saturated fats are bad, but recent work by my lab and others suggests otherwise. While some saturated fats cause inflammation, some do not; this is important because inflammation can cause a break down in how the body handles sugars and fats. One of the major sources of inflammation in the body is fat tissue.***The goal of this work is to study how different dietary fats cause fat tissue inflammation, and whether this is affected by a key gene (called SCD1). We believe that SCD1 not only has a role in metabolism, but also helps to prevent inflammation caused by some saturated fats. In other words, the inflammation caused by some saturated fats will be worse when SCD1 is not functioning. We will study this interesting idea in several ways. First, fat cells (that either have SCD1 or not) grown in culture will be treated with different dietary fats and we will then examine genes and proteins linked with inflammation. Fat cells release proteins (called adipokines) that essentially communicate with other cells and tissues in the body. Some adipokines cause inflammation and others prevent inflammation. After treating fat cells (that either have SCD1 or not) with different dietary fats, we will examine which adipokines are released from these cells. We will also do similar studies using fat tissue collected from mice that do not have SCD1. Second, we will feed mice (that either have SCD1 or not) diets that differ in saturated fat content and examine fat tissue inflammation. ***Altogether, these studies will lead to a better understanding of how SCD1 controls the impact of dietary fats on inflammation. In addition, this important work will help Canadians better appreciate the different roles of different saturated fats, which we feel will reduce confusion in the area. As well, this research will provide excellent training opportunities to students who would like to improve their knowledge of nutrition and biology.********