Diabetes researcher Karin Stenkula leads a research group that studies molecular mechanisms regulating the function of fat cells. Studies of fat cells can help increase the understanding of the development of diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. Both diseases are characterised by insulin resistance, which means a reduced ability of the hormone insulin to lower blood sugar levels. When the body's cells function normally and are sensitive to insulin, the fat cells can store excess energy as fat. In connection with insulin resistance, the cells' ability to store energy is impaired.
“We store excess energy both in the subcutaneous fat just under the skin and in the visceral fat. The visceral fat is located around the internal organs, and when too much fat is stored there, the risk of diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes will increase. In the current project, we are investigating what happens to certain types of fat cells in individuals with obesity undergoing weight loss treatment,” says Karin Stenkula, research group leader at Lund University Diabetes Centre.
Subgroups of fat cells
Previous research within the area has identified various subgroups of fat cells based on their different gene expression. Karin Stenkula's research group have selected five of these subgroups of fat cells for further investigation within the new project. The research group’s project now receives a grant of almost half a million SEK from Hjelt Diabetes Foundation.
The study will be conducted on about 30 participants with obesity who are undergoing different types of weight loss treatments. Some of the participants will receive treatment through weight management programmes, which will involve healthy eating advice and new exercise habits. Other participants are receiving GLP-1 medicines which have been approved for weight loss. Individuals who will undergo weight loss surgery can also participate in the study.
Adipose tissue samples and clinical data are gathered before and for a few years after initiation of weight loss treatment for further analysis. The research team will investigate whether previous findings made at gene level in subgroups of fat cells can be confirmed at protein level, and whether there are associations to the cell’s insulin sensitivity.
“It will be very interesting to make comparisons between participants who receive different types of weight loss treatment. We would, for example, like to investigate what happens to the participants’ fat cells before and after treatment and whether there are differences between different groups of participants. This knowledge can be important for providing individualised weight loss treatment,” says Karin Stenkula.
New platform for images analysis
If it turns out that certain types of fat cells have better insulin sensitivity than others, it may be possible to develop new treatments for obesity in the future. One therapeutic strategy may be to increase the number of fat cells of a certain type to improve insulin sensitivity.
“I hope that the study will give us new knowledge about why the body’s ability to store fat is impaired and if we can do anything about it. If we can improve the body's ability to store fat, it may also be possible to prevent diseases such as type 2 diabetes.”
Karin Stenkula's research group has established a collaboration with a company that specialises in smart microscopy and AI-tools for image analysis. Through a data-driven platform, the researchers can make detailed analyses of adipose tissue samples and fat cells. The new grant from Hjelt Diabetes Foundation creates conditions for the recruitment of a doctoral student who will focus on the development of software and data collection for the image analyses.
“A major challenge in studying fat cells is that they float, are fragile, and prone to break. We hope that we will get a detailed picture of the fat cells through our new platform for image analysis,” says Karin Stenkula.
