iScience (Jun 2023)

A pref-1-controlled non-inflammatory mechanism of insulin resistance

  • Yiheng Huang,
  • Donghong Cui,
  • Liujun Chen,
  • Haibin Tong,
  • Hong Wu,
  • Grace K. Muller,
  • Yadan Qi,
  • Shuxia Wang,
  • Jinjie Xu,
  • Xiang Gao,
  • Kathleen E. Fifield,
  • Lingyan Wang,
  • Zhengyuan Xia,
  • Jacqueline L. Vanderluit,
  • Suixin Liu,
  • Lin Leng,
  • Guang Sun,
  • John McGuire,
  • Lawrence H. Young,
  • Richard Bucala,
  • Dake Qi

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 26, no. 6
p. 106923

Abstract

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Summary: While insulin resistance (IR) is associated with inflammation in white adipose tissue, we report a non-inflammatory adipose mechanism of high fat-induced IR mediated by loss of Pref-1. Pref-1, released from adipose Pref-1+ cells with characteristics of M2 macrophages, endothelial cells or progenitors, inhibits MIF release from both Pref-1+ cells and adipocytes by binding with integrin β1 and inhibiting the mobilization of p115. High palmitic acid induces PAR2 expression in Pref-1+ cells, downregulating Pref-1 expression and release in an AMPK-dependent manner. The loss of Pref-1 increases adipose MIF secretion contributing to non-inflammatory IR in obesity. Treatment with Pref-1 blunts the increase in circulating plasma MIF levels and subsequent IR induced by a high palmitic acid diet. Thus, high levels of fatty acids suppress Pref-1 expression and secretion, through increased activation of PAR2, resulting in an increase in MIF secretion and a non-inflammatory adipose mechanism of IR.

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