Nature sub-journal: Hyperlipidemia is more harmful than thought

Elevated blood lipid levels in people with type 2 diabetes and obesity are more harmful than previously thought, a new study finds

In patients with metabolic disease, elevated levels of fat in the blood can create stress in muscle cells—a response to extracellular changes that disrupt muscle cell structure and function

Researchers at the University of Leeds have found that these stressed cells emit a signal that can be passed on to other cells

The signals, called ceramides, may be protective in the short term because they are part of a mechanism designed to reduce stress within cells

It has long been known that increased fat in the blood can damage tissues and organs, leading to cardiovascular disease and metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes

Research Director Lee Roberts, Professor of Molecular Physiology and Metabolism, University of Leeds School of Medicine, said: "While this research is at an early stage, our findings may form the basis for new therapies or treatments to prevent cardiovascular and metabolic disease.

In the lab, the team replicated the lipid levels observed in people with metabolic diseases by exposing skeletal muscle cells to a fatty acid called palmitate

When these cells were mixed with other cells that had not been exposed to fat, the researchers found that they communicated with each other, transmitting signals in packages called extracellular vesicles

The experiment was replicated in volunteers with metabolic disease and gave comparable results

Professor Roberts said: "This study gives us a new perspective on how stress develops in the cells of obese individuals and sheds new light on the search for new treatments for metabolic diseases

"With the growing prevalence of obesity, the burden of associated chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, requires new treatments

article title

Long-chain ceramides are cell non-autonomous signals linking lipotoxicity to endoplasmic reticulum stress in skeletal muscle