title: Fatty acid-induced NLRP3-ASC inflammasome activation interferes with insulin signaling.
abstract: High-fat diet (HFD) and inflammation are key contributors to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Interleukin (IL)-1β plays a role in insulin resistance, yet how IL-1β is induced by the fatty acids in an HFD, and how this alters insulin signaling, is unclear. We show that the saturated fatty acid palmitate, but not unsaturated oleate, induces the activation of the NLRP3-ASC inflammasome, causing caspase-1, IL-1β and IL-18 production. This pathway involves mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and the AMP-activated protein kinase and unc-51-like kinase-1 (ULK1) autophagy signaling cascade. Inflammasome activation in hematopoietic cells impairs insulin signaling in several target tissues to reduce glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Furthermore, IL-1β affects insulin sensitivity through tumor necrosis factor-independent and dependent pathways. These findings provide insights into the association of inflammation, diet and T2D.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Haitao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gris
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Sushmita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jha
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Max Tze-Han
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Willie June
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Brickey
authors.forename: Jenny P-Y
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Ting
mesh_terms: D000620:Aminoimidazole Carboxamide / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy / Q000276:immunology; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D020170:Caspase 1 / Q000276:immunology; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000276:immunology*; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D058847:Inflammasomes / Q000276:immunology*; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000276:immunology*; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000276:immunology; D008264:Macrophages; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D000071199:NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000494:pharmacology; D019308:Palmitic Acid / Q000276:immunology*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000276:immunology; D012265:Ribonucleotides / Q000494:pharmacology; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D058847:Inflammasomes; D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D000071199:NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein; C492716:Nlrp3 protein, mouse; D009842:Oligopeptides; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D012265:Ribonucleotides; C517629:benzyloxycarbonyl-valyl-alanyl-aspartic acid; D019308:Palmitic Acid; D000620:Aminoimidazole Carboxamide; D020170:Caspase 1; C031143:AICA ribonucleotide