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.

Related posts:

1. Blocking Lipid Droplet Hydrolysis May Be Beneficial Fatty acids can be stored as triacylglycerol in lipid droplets, typically within adipose tissue, and then later released by the...
2. Regulating Cholesterol Levels Cholesterol is an essential component of all cellular membranes and is also required for synthesis of vitamin D and steroid...
3. New Insights into Adipogenesis The nuclear receptor, PPARγ, has hitherto been regarded as the master regulator of adipogenesis, without which new adipose tissue cannot...
4. High Altitude Metabolism The cellular responses to low oxygen levels (hypoxia), as occurs at high altitude, are critical for survival. The transcription factor,...
5. Mending a Broken Heart Heart disease is a leading cause of death and illness in the developed world and, once damaged, the heart has...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

 Email This Post

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 18th, 2010 at 8:30 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.