Fat and Glucose Metabolism

A special issue of Metabolites (ISSN 2218-1989). This special issue belongs to the section "Cell Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 1188

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department Biomedical Sciences, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA
Interests: intermediary metabolism; nutrient metabolism; insulin clearance; CECAM1; liver diseases; fibrosis; obesity; diabetes

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Guest Editor
Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: intermediary metabolism; nutrient metabolism; stable isotopes and NMR spectrocopy metabolic fluxes; Liver diseases; obesity; diabetes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fat and glucose metabolism are critical physiological processes that maintain energy homeostasis and general metabolic health. These pathways are intimately linked, with shared regulatory mechanisms ensuring a steady supply of energy substrates to meet cellular demands. Fat homeostasis, which is primarily controlled by adipose tissue and the liver, involves the breakdown of triglycerides into fatty acids and glycerol via lipolysis, followed by oxidation or re-esterification for storage. Simultaneously, glucose metabolism, which is predominantly controlled by insulin and glucagon, guarantees a steady supply of glucose for tissues such as the brain that rely on glycolysis and glucose oxidation for cellular energy production. Imbalances in fat and glucose metabolism can result in metabolic disorders, such as obesity, insulin resistance, MAFLD, and type 2 diabetes, among others, posing major health problems. Thus, understanding the molecular and physiological mechanisms that mediate fat and glucose homeostasis is critical for designing effective therapeutic approaches for metabolic diseases and enhancing metabolic health.

This Special Issue on "Fat and Glucose Metabolism" invites submissions of original research articles, reviews, clinical trials, intervention studies, or meta-analyses on the links between fat and glucose metabolism. Furthermore, research into the identification of biomarkers, therapeutic targets, and potential therapeutics for these metabolic pathways is encouraged.

Dr. Getachew D. Belew
Dr. John Griffith Jones
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • nutrient metabolism
  • energy homeostasis
  • insulin resistance
  • diabetes
  • obesity
  • MAFLD
  • metabolic disorders
  • therapeutic agents

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

11 pages, 3050 KiB  
Article
Docosahexaenoic and Eicosapentaenoic Acid Supplementation Could Attenuate Negative Effects of Maternal Metabolic Syndrome on Liver Lipid Metabolism and Liver Betacellulin Expression in Male and Female Rat Offspring
by Tomislav Mašek, Petra Roškarić, Sunčica Sertić and Kristina Starčević
Metabolites 2025, 15(1), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo15010032 - 9 Jan 2025
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: This study investigated the effects of maternal metabolic syndrome during pregnancy on hepatic fatty acid metabolism and betacellulin expression in rat offspring. A rat model of maternal metabolic syndrome was created with a high-fructose diet (15% fructose in drinking water for [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: This study investigated the effects of maternal metabolic syndrome during pregnancy on hepatic fatty acid metabolism and betacellulin expression in rat offspring. A rat model of maternal metabolic syndrome was created with a high-fructose diet (15% fructose in drinking water for six months). Methods: The females with metabolic syndrome were divided into the CON group, the HF group, which received fructose in drinking water, and the HF-DHA group, which received fructose in water and increased amounts of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) in the diet (2.5% fish oil in the diet). The male and female offspring were killed at birth and their liver tissue was analyzed for the fatty acid profile and expression of Δ-9-desaturase and betacellulin. Results: When the rat offspring were exposed in utero to maternal fatty acids altered by the high-fructose diet, this resulted in a similarly altered fatty acid profile in the liver, with the most significant changes being Δ-9 desaturation and a dramatic increase in monounsaturated fatty acids. The offspring also showed an overexpression of hepatic betacellulin. Supplementation with DHA and EPA increased the DHA content and normalized the fatty acid composition of oleic acid, saturated fatty acids, linoleic acid and n3-docosapentaenoic acid in the offspring of mothers on a high-fructose diet. In addition, the DHA/EPA supplementation of fructose-fed mothers normalized hepatic Δ-9-desaturase and betacellulin overexpression in the offspring, suggesting that DHA/EPA supplementation affects not only the fatty acid content but also the liver function. Conclusions: The changes observed in this study suggest that DHA/EPA supplementation may modulate the effects of maternal programming on disorders of the lipid metabolism in the offspring. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fat and Glucose Metabolism)
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