Obesity is now a major public health issue. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), at least 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. The number of obese children and adolescents has increased tenfold over the past 4 years.
Obesity is frequently associated with metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Supported by the Carrefour Foundation and led by Dr Wilfried Le Goff (INSERM UMR_S1166 – IHU ICAN), the research project entitled “Study of the protective mechanisms of omega-3 fatty acids in obesity” aims to provide a better understanding of the beneficial effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in obesity. It will thus help propose new therapeutic approaches to counter the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
The role of unsaturated fats in preventing obesity
Poor diet is a major risk factor in the development of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The WHO recommends limiting energy intake from fats by reducing the consumption of saturated fats in favor of unsaturated fats.
Although the beneficial role of unsaturated fats in preventing the metabolic disorders associated with obesity is widely accepted, the underlying mechanisms are nonetheless less clear.
These would mainly rely on the protective effects associated with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) of the omega-3 type, notably against the development of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
From a mechanistic perspective, omega-3 PUFAs would notably reduce inflammation in adipose tissue, the fat storage organ, which drives the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in obesity. However, the precise mechanisms are not known.
Studying the protective mechanisms of omega-3 fatty acids
Work by Dr W. Le Goff’s team (INSERM UMR_S1166 – IHU ICAN) made it possible to identify an enzyme that modulates omega-3 PUFA content in macrophages, the key cells that control inflammation in adipose tissue. Preliminary results indicate that expression of this enzyme mobilizes omega-3 PUFAs from macrophage membranes to reduce inflammation.
Within IHU ICAN, the ICAN Omics platform will carry out lipidomic analyses.
This current research project therefore aims to determine whether the beneficial action of omega-3 PUFAs on the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes during obesity requires the anti-inflammatory action of this enzyme in adipose tissue macrophages.
The project will enable a better understanding of the beneficial effects of omega-3 PUFAs in obesity and will help propose new therapeutic approaches to counter the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
They support this research program
Support from the Carrefour Foundation will help fund a doctoral researcher position, the isolation of macrophages from the adipose tissue of patients with obesity through cell sorting, and their transcriptomic analysis.
This research program also benefits from funding from the French-speaking Diabetes Society, the Sorbonne University Alliance (Emergence Program), and the French National Research Agency (ANR).
“Support from the Carrefour Foundation will be essential for this research program studying the contribution of macrophage membrane lipid remodeling in adipose tissue to the anti-inflammatory role of omega-3 PUFAs. This work, which will be carried out by a doctoral researcher in our team, will enable major advances in understanding the protective mechanisms of omega-3 PUFAs in obesity.”
Wilfried Le Goff – Team Leader, Cellular Lipid Metabolism in Cardiovascular Diseases – UMR 1166 / IHU ICAN
