Drug Discovery Opinion

Extreme accumulation of fat in muscle tissue is associated with cardiovascular disease and is a contributory factor in insulin resistance and type II diabetes. It is therefore important to understand the mechanisms by which fat is taken up from the bloodstream and metabolised by tissues. Surprisingly, the role of blood vessels themselves in the transport of lipids has not been clearly established. Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet have now identified a role for vascular endothelial growth factor-B (VEGF-B) in endothelial targeting of lipids to peripheral tissues.

The VEGFs and their receptors are major regulators of angiogenesis and pharmacological intervention, for example with bevacizumab (a monoclonal antibody specific for VEGF-A), has been successfully exploited in oncology. This latest study has shown that VEGF-B, in mice, controls endothelial uptake of fatty acids via transcriptional regulation of vascular fatty acid transport proteins. Mice that were deficient in VEGF-B (Vegfb^-/-) showed reduced uptake and accumulation of lipids in muscle, heart and brown adipose tissue. Instead, the Vegfb^-/- mice preferentially transported lipids to white adipose tissue, resulting in a small weight increase. This regulation was mediated by VEGF receptor 1 and neuropilin 1 expressed by the endothelium.

The authors of the study, published in Nature, propose that this new role for VEGF-B could potentially lead to novel strategies to modulate pathological lipid accumulation in diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases.

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