The role of palmitoleic acid supplementation on insulin sensitivity in the skeletal muscle of mice fed with a high-fat diet

• Grant number: 11/14026-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2011
• End date: June 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - General Physiology
• Principal Investigator: José Cesar Rosa Neto
• Grantee: Edson Alves de Lima Junior
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Obesity is one of the diseases most associated with the modern lifestyle and has a range of comorbidities as a consequence, such as insulin resistance, which often leads to the development of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, the increase in the probability of developing some kinds of tumors, the unleash of cardiovascular diseases, among other morbidities. Although several studies show the effects of fatty acids on the systemic metabolism, and the agreement that the high content of lipids in the diet is associated with insulin resistance, the knowledge on the effect of palmitoleic acid (w -7), in the mechanism of action involved on the insulin sensitivity in the skeletal muscle is still incipient. With that, this project is aimed at investigating the role of the supplementation with fatty acids (FA) w-7 (macadamia oil), on the insulin resistance induced by a high-fat diet in mice. For this purpose, mice of the lineage C57BL6 will be used. The animals will receive a balanced diet, supplemented or not with FA w-7 during 12 weeks (weeks 0 to 12). The animals will receive a balanced diet during the first 4 weeks, from the weeks 5 to 12, a group of animals will continue receiving a balanced diet and the other group will receive a high-fat diet. The goal of the study is to evaluate the framework of sensitivity to muscular and systemic insulin (which will be performed in the isolated soleus muscle). For that, the following parameters will be analyzed: systemic sensitivity to insulin estimated in vivo by the insulin tolerance test, oral glucose tolerance test, basal glycemia and insulinemia in the 4th, 8th and 12th week. The in vitro experiments (glucose capture/incorporation/oxidation) and molecular signaling of the insulin via will be performed by measuring the phosphorylated and total Akt carried out in isolated soleus muscle. (AU)