Monounsaturated fatty acids may improve adipose dysfunction

(HealthDay)—Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) may reduce inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity in adipose tissue, according to research published online Jan. 27 in Diabetes.

Orla M. Finucane, Ph.D., of the Conway Institute of Biomedical and Biomolecular Sciences & Institute of Food & Health in Dublin, and colleagues fed mice a high-fat diet (HFD) with saturated fatty acids (SFAs) or MUFAs. The researchers compared the effects of different fatty acids on adipose tissue biology and insulin sensitivity.

The researchers found that, compared with SFA-HFD fed mice, MUFA-HFD fed mice showed improved insulin sensitivity coincident with reduced pro-IL-1β priming, attenuated adipose IL-1β secretion, and sustained adipose AMPK activation. In addition, MUFA-HFD fed mice showed hyperplastic adipose with enhanced adipogenic potential of stromal vascular fraction and improved insulin sensitivity. Switching from SFA-HFD to MUFA-HFD did not reverse insulin resistance, but fasting plasma insulin levels were improved. An in vitro study showed that MUFA oleic acid impedes adenosine triphosphate-induced IL-1β secretion from lipopolysaccharide and SFA primed cells in an AMPK-dependent manner.

"These novel findings suggest that dietary MUFA can attenuate IL-1β mediated insulin resistance and adipose dysfunction despite obesity via preservation of AMPK activity," the authors write.

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