Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

In human, high concentrations of bad cholesterol, as measured by the apolipoprotein B (apoB), predict type 2 diabetes (T2D) development. It is known that a dysfunctional fat tissue also promotes T2D. Our team has demonstrated that subjects with high levels of apoB have a dysfunctional fat tissue. Moreoever, the function of the cells that store the fat in the fat tissue (adipocytes) is reduced in the presence of high apoB concentrations. Yet, the mechanisms that lead to this dysfunction are still unknown. Our hypothesis is that the bad cholesterol interferes with the proper maturation process of the adipocytes. To demonstrate this hypothesis, we used microscopy to observe how the cholesterol is absorbed by the adipocytes and how it impacts the functionality of these cells. Our results show that the cells remain in an immature state when in the presence of high concentrations of apoB, which reduces their function. Thus, this could explain why subjects with high levels of apoB have a more dysfunctional fat tissue and are at increased risk of developing T2D. In the future, a better understanding of this problematic will help design better therapeutic approaches to reduce blood cholesterol without increasing the risk for T2D development.