Insulin and adipose tissue fatty acids metabolism

Adipose tissues regulate the exposure of lean tissues to fatty acids. Insulin inhibits adipose tissue intracellular triglyceride lipolysis, reducing postprandial nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) systemic flux. Insulin may also enhance trapping of dietary fatty acids in adipose tissues, thus reducing the exposure of lean organs to dietary fat. Adipose tissue insulin resistance is therefore often viewed as a cause of ectopic fat deposition in lean organs. In this presentation, I will briefly review the concept of adipose tissue insulin resistance. From a recent large cross-sectional metabolic study in my laboratory, I will examine the effect of insulin resistance (prediabetes) on postprandial fatty acid metabolism. I will also illustrate the effect of change in insulin sensitivity in healthy subjects on postprandial fatty acid metabolism.

Dr. Carpentier is the Canada Research Chair in Molecular Imaging of Diabetes and professor and endocrinologist-lipidologist in the Departments of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine at the Université de Sherbrooke. He is the Scientific Director of the Centre de recherche du CHUS since December 2020. He was the director of the Province of Quebec Research Network on Cardiometabolic Health, Diabetes and Obesity (CMDO Network - https://www.rrcmdo.ca/en/) from 2012-2021 and is the co-director of Diabetes Action Canada Training Group (https://diabetesaction.ca/). His research interests include: 1) the role of postprandial fatty acid metabolism in the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases; 2) the investigation of brown adipose tissue metabolism in humans; and 3) the anti-diabetic mechanisms of bariatric surgery. Dr. Carpentier has published more than 164 peer-reviewed manuscript publications cited over 13,800 times (H index 52). He is the recipient for multiple awards, including the 2011 Diabetes Young Investigator Award of the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, the CDA/CIHR Young Investigator Award in 2012 and the Canadian Lipoprotein Conference Physician-Scientist Award in 2014. He has been elected Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (FCAHS, 2015).

André Carpentier, MD FRCPC CSPQ FCAHS
Endocrinologist and Professor Canada Research Chair in Molecular Imaging of Diabetes

Department of Medicine Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Centre de recherche du CHUS Université de Sherbrooke