fat tissue tagged posts

Protein Kinase C Epsilon Deletion in Adipose Tissue, but Not in Liver, Improves Glucose Tolerance

A new study by Australian researchers, out today, is challenging what we know about the causes of diabetes. The new research points to fat tissue as a source of disease, and widens our understanding beyond the traditional focus on liver and pancreas as the main culprits. The findings, uncovered in mice, are published in the high-impact journal Cell Metabolism.

The new research is centred around the surprising finding that protein kinase C epsilon (PKCε), known to be involved in diabetes, isn’t acting in the liver or the pancreas as was once assumed. Researchers have long known that PKCε is important for the development of diabetes...

A breakthrough study shows that fat tissue is innervated and that direct stimulation of neurons in fat is sufficient to induce fat breakdown. These results set up the stage for developing novel anti-obesity therapies. Fat tissue constitutes 20 – 25% of human body weight being an energy store in the form of triglycerides. 20 yrs ago Jeffrey Friedman and colleagues identified the hormone leptin, which is produced by fat cells in amounts that are proportional to the amount of fat, and informs the brain about how much fat is available in the body. Leptin functions as an “adipostat” neuro-endocrine signal that preserves body’s fat mass in a relatively narrow range of variation...